Return to Innocence
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: Gabriel survives the encounter with Lucifer and decides to go in another direction to help the boys. He may not be able to stop Lucifer and Michael from fighting to the death, but he can at least save the Winchester, or at least one of them. How far will Gabriel go to save the youngest Winchester from his fate? And how will Sam react to his new reality? Story contains Spanking.
1. Chapter 1

Dean got in his car to head for the nearest bar. It had been a rough few weeks, no, make that a rough year, and he needed to get drunk. They finally had a tentative plan to stop Lucifer and the end of the world, but there were still so many things that could go wrong. Hell, they didn't even know how they were going to get Lucifer into the box even if they managed to get their hands on the rest of the rings to do it. It wasn't like they could just politely ask him to jump in.

"You have a point there," a voice answered Dean's unvoiced thoughts.

On instinct, Dean grabbed his gun and turned around the the back, shoving it into the face of the archangel he'd thought had just died not too long ago. When he saw who it was, Dean lowered his gun. "Seriously? How many lives do you have?

Gabriel just shrugged and smirked in response.

"We thought you were dead. We saw your body at that hotel, scorched wings and all," Dean said. He'd thought it was real this time. Burnt wings in the floor usually meant a dead angel.

"Let's just say I still had a few tricks up my sleeve. My plan was to go back into witness protection, and even better one now that everyone thinks I'm dead. I did my part after all. I gave you your next move," Gabriel said.

"Then why are you here?" Dean asked.

"Glutton for punishment. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to see how it would all end. As I'm sure you know, I have the power to sneak a peak into the future. I didn't like what I saw," Gabriel said.

"We fail," Dean realized as his heart sank. He knew it wasn't a good chance, but he still held some hope.

"No, actually. You got the rings and you managed to get Luci back into his home away from home. It's actually quite astonishing," Gabriel said. He had given them the idea, but he never actually thought they'd be able to pull it off.

"Well, damn. Now I'm gonna go to the bar to celebrate," Dean said with a big smile.

"Did you miss the part where I said I didn't like what I saw. It comes at a cost, Dean, a big one. As you were thinking yourself when I arrived, it won't be easy. Lucifer won't just jump in because you want him to, and it's not exactly easy to push him in either," Gabriel said.

"So how'd we do it?" Dean asked.

"Well, normally I wouldn't spoil the ending, but given that I'm not fond of this particular ending, I'll tell you. His vessel. You used his vessel to get him in," Gabriel said.

Dean was confused by what the archangel meant at first, but it didn't take him long to figure it out, and the look on Gabriel's face told him he was right. "No!"

Gabriel nodded. "It was the only way. Sammy managed to gain control and jumped right in."

"No! I would never let that happen!" Dean said.

"You didn't want to. He had to convince you that it was the one way. He was right, there wasn't really much other choice," Gabriel said.

"I'll find another way! I won't let it happen," Dean said firmly. He knew what Hell was like. There was no way he was going to let his brother condemn himself to that.

"Do you honestly think I'd be here if I didn't have another option? I don't want to see this happen either. I have a way to protect your brother. It's not really a resolution to the Lucifer problem though," Gabriel said.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"I mean, this fight with Michael and Lucifer is going to happen if we do this, but I can make it so you and your brother isn't a part of it," Gabriel said.

"You know that an angel needs consent to take a vessel, right? Well, because of that, there's sort of an age limit. Young children can't be used," Gabriel said.

"That's not true. Cas used his vessel's daughter at one point," Dean said.

"She was almost a teenage. She had the ability to consent. By children, I mean like under eight," Gabriel said.

"What are you suggesting?" Dean asked. Actually, he had a good idea what he was suggesting. It was just so out there that he felt he had to be wrong. Gabriel couldn't really mean to do this.

"Your brother already has it in his head, Dean. He knows what it will take to get Lucifer in that box and nothing will change his mind. The only way to stop it is to make sure he can't consent anymore.

"You wanna turn him into a kid? How would that help? Eventually he'd get bigger again. That's if Michael or Lucifer didn't figure it out and change him back. Unless... Is your plan for me to say yes after you deage him?" Dean asked.

"I won't say the thought didn't cross my mind. You have to admit that the biggest reason for saying no is Sam," Gabriel said.

Dean couldn't deny that. Yeah, he cared about the world being destroyed, but his biggest reason was knowing that if he said yes and Sam did as well, his hands would be used to kill his little brother. He could never, ever consider such a thing. "Say I did that. What, would you just turn Sam back once it was all over?"

Gabriel shook his head. "It wouldn't be that simple. I could not leave a way for Sam to be turned back. Michael would put off the fight if he thought there was a way to either turn Sam back or wait for him to age. That's why neither of those things will happen. The spell I plan to use is a Pagan ritual. It's permanent and it slows down the aging process. He will age, but it will take centuries. Michael won't wait that long to take out Lucifer. But that doesn't mean you have to say yes. I could take your somewhere safe or you could come with us. Either way, it would be a dimension far form this one. You'd be safe, " Gabriel said.

Dean considered that for only a second before dismissing it. As much as the idea appealed to him, he couldn't do it. He couldn't just leave this world for Lucifer to destroy. He got a glimpse of what that could be like, courtesy of Zachariah and he just couldn't do it. One way or another, he had to stay. "No. If I agree to this, which I haven't decided to, I will stay and let Michael in."

"You're under the impression I'm giving you an option. This is not a request for permission, Dean, it's a courtesy. I'm merely informing you of what I intend to do. You decide what you want to do for yourself, but Sam is another matter," Gabriel said.

Dean glared at him, perfectly aware that he couldn't actually stop Gabriel. "Why?"

"Because it's the best outcome for him. You know that, but I'm not certain you'll make the right choice. So I'm afraid you don't get one," Gabriel said.

"What about Sam?"' Dean asked.

"He wouldn't make the right choice either," Gabriel responded.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you care enough to go to the trouble of deaging Sam and then raising him. I assume that's what you'd be doing," Dean said.

"You assume right. The demon blood should've destroyed Sam. It should've turned him into a mini Lucifer, just as it did to many of the other special children, but it didn't. Even after drinking gallons of it to kill Lilith, his soul remained mostly pure. I'm not willing to see a soul like that thrown away and condemned," Gabriel told him honestly. Dean was right, he was giving up a lot by doing this, maybe even putting himself at risk, but he was willing because saving Sam Winchester was worth it.

Dean turned around in his seat and looked at the motel room that his brother was currently in. "What...? What exactly will happen? Will just his body change or will he forget everything?" Dean asked.

"I've never actually done this, so I'm really just going off of research, but from the way I understand it, he will remember everything at first. Changing the mind happens at a slower rate than changing the body. His mind will regress eventually, probably within a few days to a couple of weeks. When it does, he will remember some. He should recognize names and faces. Whether he'll have all his memories intact, I don't know, but he will act like a child," Gabriel explained.

"So he'll remember me?" Dean asked. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he wanted Sam to always remember him. Yes, he knew it would probably be better for Sam if he didn't, but Dean just couldn't stand the thought of that.

"He should," Gabriel said.

"You do this, he's going to be angry as hell," Dean said. Sam would especially be angry at first when he had his adult mind. He wasn't going to make things easy for him.

"He'll get over it," Gabriel said.

"I want a few minutes with him," Dean said. This was going to happen. There was nothing he could do to stop it. He knew that. Honestly, he wasn't even sure he wanted. He had to say goodbye.

"Alright, but don't try to leave, Dean. I will know," Gabriel warned.

Dean nodded and got out of the car. The whole way to the motel room, he told himself that this was for the best. He told himself it would be worth it. He believed it too. Dean knew there was no out for him, but Sam could be free. It was all he ever wanted and now he had the chance. He could save his brother.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam was sitting on his bed. He had his back propped up against the wall behind his bed and his knees raised to support the laptop he was using. He was looking for any signs to help them find the other horsemen.

Sam looked up as he heard the door open to find his brother. "Hey. I thought you were going to the bar."

"Oh, trust me, I will be," Dean said. He had no doubt that after this, he was going to spend the rest of the night drowning in alcohol. He was about to do the hardest thing he'd ever done. Let his brother go. Sure, it wouldn't be the first time he'd said goodbye to Sam. He did it when Sam went to Stanford and when they decided to go their separate ways after Lucifer was released, but this was different. Every other time, he could always tell himself he'd see his brother again, and so far, that had happened. This time would be different. Gabriel had made it clear that he intended to literally drop off the planet with his brother. And even on the off chance that Dean did see Sam again, he wouldn't be who he was now. He would be a child who had a whole different life. There was no telling what he would even remember.

A large part of Dean really wanted to run. He wanted to try to get his brother out of there and away from the archangel who wanted to take him away. It was a selfish thought, but it was there. He couldn't let the selfish part of him win though. He had to do this for Sammy. He had to let him go for his own good. Besides, he knew he wouldn't get far. Like Gabriel said, he'd know and he'd stop them.

"Did you forget something?" Sam asked.

Dean went over and sat down on the bed opposite his brother. He just stared at him for several seconds. He didn't know how to even begin to do this. How did he say goodbye to his brother. Sammy had been the one constant his entire life. The one thing that would never be taken from him. But now he was being taken from him. The worst part was that Dean couldn't even hate Gabriel for doing it.

Sam started to get uneasy. His brother was just staring at him without saying a single word, and he looked like his entire world was coming to an end. Something had happened. "Dean, what's wrong?"

"I love you, Sammy. You know that," Dean said.

Sam closed his laptop and put it aside. Then he sat up straight and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Now he was sure something was seriously wrong. Dean didn't tell him he loved him unless something seriously bad was going down. And, yeah, no one could argue that the end of the world fit that category, but they weren't close enough for that yet. This was more of a conversation they'd have right before going into battle with Lucifer. "Dean, you're scaring me. What happened?"

"This thing with Lucifer isn't going to end well," Dean said.

"Dean, we already know what we're going to do. We're going to put him back in the cage," Sam said.

"Yeah? How? By you jumping in with him inside you?" Dean asked.

Sam was caught off guard by his brother's question. How had he known that Sam had been thinking about that. He had yet to voice it to his brother. He hadn't even said it out loud. Then again, Dean knew him and how he thought. "Dean, it's the best way. We both knew we can't just push him in, and he certainly won't jump in. Hell, he's an archangel. He knows a lot. He probably knows about the key. That's going to make it even harder. The only way to pull it off is to try to gain control and jump in with him inside me."

"Then what? You go to Hell?" Dean asked.

"Yes. And you will go on. You can have a life. You can go to Lisa and have a life with her and Ben. I know you love her," Sam said.

"That's not in the cards for me." _'But it is for you,'_ Dean added to himself. It was the only thing that was getting him through this. Sam was going to have a good life, a childhood. He was going to have what he should've had the first time around. Dean couldn't say he totally trusted Gabriel with his brother, but that was because he didn't trust anyone, aside from maybe Bobby, with him. But he knew this was Sam's best shot, and he did believe that Gabriel was sincere about wanting to give Sam a better life.

"It can be, Dean. Look, this is for the best. I know you realize that because you're so calm," Sam said. He was actually surprised by how calm Dean was. He could tell that his brother was far from happy, but usually Dean would be screaming and ordering Sam against even thinking about this for another second, but he wasn't. He hadn't even raised his voice. He had to realize this was the right thing.

"You think that's why I'm calm. You're wrong. I'm calm because it doesn't matter. I'm not gonna let it happen," Dean said before standing up and going to the fridge. He took out a beer and opened it. He was starting his pity party a bit early.

"Dean, there's no other way to stop it," Sam said.

"You're right. You jumping into the cage probably is the only way to stop Michael and Lucifer from killing thousands of people while doing the same to each other. You may be surprised to find that I don't care. If it has to happen for you to live, so be it," Dean said firmly before taking a sip of his beer.

Sam stood up from the bed and eyed his brother carefully. "You don't mean that. You don't want the world to end."

"No, I don't, but I'd let it burn to the ground for you," Dean swore.

"No! I don't want that! You don't either! This is the whole reason neither of us said yes! We didn't want to see the end of the world! This is our job, Dean! We protect the world, even at our own risk!" Sam yelled. He knew his brother was scared, but didn't he realize this was best for everyone? They had to stop the apocalypse no matter the cost. And if Sam going to Hell was the cost, well, he only saw it has fitting. He was the reason Lucifer was free.

Dean put his beer on the table and walked over to his brother until they were only about a foot apart. "Sammy, I'm so sorry. I failed you."

"Dean, no, you didn't fail me," Sam protested. He could see the pain in his brother's eyes and he hated it. He was glad that he seemed to finally realize what needed to happen, but he hated that his brother somehow felt he was responsible. "You have been the best big brother in the world. There is no one in this world that I love more than you. You were everything to me, both my brother and my father. I didn't count on Dad. I counted on you. And you always came though. You made sure I had everything that I ever needed."

"But now I can't give you what you need. I can't protect you," Dean said as he fought to hold back the tears. Actually, that fact was probably even worse than knowing he could never see his brother again. It was was the knowledge that he didn't have the ability to protect Sam anymore. He had to let someone else do it.

"No, you can't. But it's okay. None of it is your fault, and I'm okay with it," Sam said.

Dean pulled his brother into his arms and held him close. "I love you, Sammy. Please don't hate me for this."

"Dean, I could never hate you. It's not your fault. Don't feel bad about what happens to me. One way or another, you were going to have to let me go eventually," Sam said as he continued to hug his brother.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean said before pulling away. "I can't protect you, Sammy, but I can make sure you are protected."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked both in confusion and trepidation.

"You can come in now," Dean said in a slightly raised tone, knowing Gabriel would hear him.

"What?" San asked in confusion.

Just a second later, Gabriel appeared.

Sam was shocked. It hadn't been long ago that they'd thought the archangel had died trying to kill Lucifer. It had been another death he had on his conscience and another reason to end all of this. "Gabriel?!"

Gabriel smiled at him.

"But Lucifer killed you," Sam said, still awestruck.

"Afraid not. He killed a copy," Gabriel said.

Dean looked at the archangel. "You'll take care of him, right? You promise me!"

Sam looked at his brother in confusion. What was his brother talking about? Who did he want Gabriel to protect? It couldn't be him, could it? It was then that he remembered Dean saying just a minute ago that he had someone who could protect Sam. He meant Gabriel?

"I swear on my father. Coming from an archangel, there is no greater promise," Gabriel said.

"Do it then," Dean said before taking several steps back.

Gabriel approached Sam and placed his hands on his shoulders. He needed to be touching him for this to work.

Sam started to get worried as Gabriel laid his hands on him. He tried to pull away from him, but he found that he couldn't mover a single muscle. The only thing mobile was his head. "What are you doing, Gabriel? Let me go."

"Shh. It's gonna be okay," Gabriel soothed before he began to chant in a language only known by Pagan gods.

"Gabriel, no! Let go of me!" Sam demanded. He didn't know what was happening, but the archangel was chanting in a language he'd never heard. That couldn't be good. He looked over at his brother, who was just standing there. "Dean, get him off me!"

The only thing Dean did was put his hand over his eyes and begin to cry freely at the knowledge that his brother would be changed and taken from him forever.

"Dean help me!" Sam begged.

"I am, Sammy," Dean cried.

Sam attempted to move his body, but it was still futile, and he soon felt a weird sensation. It didn't hurt, but it was something Sam had never felt in his life. Before he knew it, everything around him began to get bigger. Dean, and even Gabriel weren't shorter than him anymore. They were both at least twice his size.

Dean opened his eyes when Gabriel stopped chanting. He was astonished by the results, even though he knew what was going to happen. It was like he'd gone back in time. His brother looked no older than five. And it was permanent. There was no going back now.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam stared down at his small body in horror, and he did mean small. Compared to a few minutes ago, he was practically microscopic. His clothes hung off his body like they were blankets. What the hell had Gabriel done to him and why?

Gabriel snapped his fingers, making Sam's clothing shrink to fit around his now small body. Then he waited for the outburst that was sure to come.

"What'd you do to me?!" Sam asked. Then he gasped as he heard his own voice. Like his body, it was small, childlike actually. Gabriel didn't... Did he turn him into a child? He couldn't have, could he? Was something like that even possible.

"It's alright, Sammy. You're okay," Gabriel assured him.

"The hell I am?! I'm a shrimp! What did you do to me?!" Sam demanded to know as he took a step forward. Apparently Gabriel took gave him back the ability to move again.

"I turned you back into a child. I'd say you're about five at this point," Gabriel said.

"You what?! Fix it!" Sam screamed as loud as he could.

Gabriel shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo. Even if I could undo it, I wouldn't."

"I said fix it, you bastard!" Sam yelled before rushing towards him to attack him. It didn't occur to him that Gabriel was at least three to four times his size right now, nor it occur to him that even if he wasn't, he wouldn't be able to take the archangel on. He was just pissed and wanted to hurt Gabriel.

Gabriel easily caught the boy and picked him up. He brought him over to the bed, where he placed him on his lap and wrapped his arms around him tightly to keep him there.

Dean made a move to go towards them to help, but a firm shake of the head from Gabriel stopped him. He got the message. Gabriel needed to handle Sam now. He was his responsibility now, not Dean's. God, Dean hated that.

"Let me go!" Sam screamed as he tried and failed to pull away. When he realized it wouldn't work, he started kicking at Gabriel, somehow thinking he the archangel might loosen his grip.

Gabriel did not loosen his grip. Instead, he lifted his leg and crossed it over Sam's small ones, trapping them in place. "You need to calm down."

"Screw you!" Sam yelled and kept trying to get loose, no matter how futile he knew it was.

"I know you're upset, but you are not going anywhere until you calm down," Gabriel informed him.

Sam kept trying for a few minutes, all the while screaming at the top of his lungs to be let go. Soon though, he realized how useless it was and went limp in Gabriel's arms. "Why are you doing this? Is this another lesson to make us say yes. I was already going to."

Gabriel removed one of the hands that was holding Sam still and used it to run a hand through the boy's hair. His other arm remained firmly around the boy's torso. "I'm afraid this is no lesson, Sammy. And I already know what you were planning to do. That's why this had to happen. Angels can't possess young children. They don't have the capacity to consent.

Dean watched as Gabriel caressed his brother's hair and spoke to him in a comforting tone. Any reservations he might have had about this went away. It was clear to him just from this scene that Gabriel would be good for his brother. He would give him a good life.

Sam jerked his head away from Gabriel's touch. "No! You can't be serious! You're gonna get people killed!"

"That's not my concern," Gabriel said. He might sound callous, but it was how he felt about the matter. It wasn't that he wanted to see people die, but he'd chance it to save Sam, to protect one of the most selfless humans in the world. He didn't deserve to be condemned to Hell because Gabriel's brothers saw fit to drag him into this.

Sam turned to his brother, who hadn't moved an inch since Gabriel started chanting. "You let him do this to me? You're going to let him destroy our chances of ending this?"

"He didn't let me do anything, Sam. He had no say in the matter," Gabriel said.

"No, that's not true," Dean said. Well, okay, it was true. He couldn't have stopped Gabriel, but even if he could, he didn't think he would've. "I didn't do anything because this was the right thing."

"The hell it is! This isn't even going to stop anything! Even if you leave me like this, I well age back! They'll just wait. What's a few years to a couple of archangels? All that will change is people dying at Lucifer's hand!" Sam said angrily. God, he hoped that wasn't how this played out, and not just for humanity. He couldn't grow up all over again. He hated his childhood.

"It won't be like that. You won't age for a long time with the spell I used," Gabriel said.

"How long?" Sam asked with horror in his eyes.

"Centuries," Gabriel said.

Sam's eyes widened and he renewed his efforts to get away from the archangel. "No! You can't do that! Change me back!"

"Hey, it's okay. Don't be afraid. This is not a bad thing. I'm going to make sure you are happy and safe. It will be alright," Gabriel promised.

Sam ignored him and looked at his brother. "Dean, do something! Tell him to fix it!"

Dean shook his head. "He can't fix it, Sammy. It was a permanent spell. Besides, I wouldn't stop him even if I could. I told you, I won't let you go to Hell. If this is the only way, so be it."

Sam completely froze at his brother's words. Permanent. This couldn't be fixed? He would be stuck like this forever? Well, okay, not forever, but it seemed like that to him. It would several lifetimes stuck as a child. Everyone he loved would die before he even reached adulthood again. "No."

Gabriel ran his hand through Sam's hair again. He knew it probably wasn't as comforting as it was meant to be, but it was the best he could do.

"It's okay, Sammy. You'll live for centuries. How many people can say that?" Dean asked with a small, sad smile.

Sam gave his brother a betrayed look. "How could you? You knew this could never be fixed and you stood there while he did this to me."

Dean walked over and knelt down in front of his very little brother. "No, Sammy, I didn't let him do anything to you. I would never allow anyone to hurt you. That's why I had to let him do it. I won't see you go to Hell, Sammy. I won't!"

"So instead you'll let Lucifer and Michael destroy the world?! And what makes you think I'll even live through that! Gabriel's spell may keep me from aging, but I doubt it makes me immortal. I can still be killed, probably even easier than before because I can't defend myself. You are not saving me, Dean!" Sam said angrily.

Dean glanced at Gabriel. If his brother was unhappy now, he was going to be livid when he found out Gabriel was taking him to some other universe for the rest of his life.

Gabriel took a deep breath. "That won't happen because you won't be anywhere near Michael or Lucifer. There are several other dimensions in the universe and you and I will be going to one."

"What?" Sam asked in disbelief.

Dean looked at his brother sadly. "I told you I couldn't protect you anymore. I can't take care of you anymore, but Gabriel can. You'll be okay with him. I can already see that."

Sam's eyes widened and he started struggling violently once more. "No freaking way! I'm not going anywhere with him!"

Gabriel tightened his grip just slightly, not enough to hurt the boy. "Yes, you are, kiddo."

"No! It's kidnapping!"

"It may be, but it's what's happening," Gabriel said in a slightly firm tone.

"Please, Sammy, try to understand, it's the only way to protect you," Dean said.

"I don't want to be protected!" Sam yelled.

"Too bad. You're going to be. I swore to protect you when you were a baby. This is the last time I'll ever be able to do that and I'm going to make it count," Dean said firmly.

"I'll never forgive you for this!" Sam snapped at his brother. This was the worst betrayal he'd ever felt. His brother was abandoning him. No, not just abandoning him. He was allowing him to be kidnapped by an asshole archangel. He was ignoring Sam's wishes. Hell, he'd gone so far as to allow Sam to be turned into a child for several lifetimes.

Dean was hurt by his brother's words, but he understood them. He knew Sam would hate him when he found out what was going to happen. He knew he'd feel the same in Sam's position.

"Don't do this, Sam. This is the last time you will ever see your brother. Don't let this be the last thing you say to him." Gabriel advised.

"The both of you can go to Hell!" Sam said before closing his eyes, willing this all to be a bad dream.

Dean stood up. "It's okay. Go, please. It's only going to be harder the longer you're here."

"You're better than I ever gave you credit for, Dean," Gabriel said. For a long time, he always saw Dean like Michael. Someone who claimed to serve others, but usually put his selfish desires first. Dean just proved him wrong. He was ready and willing to let the person he loved the most go in order to protect him.

"You too," Dean said.

"I'll take care of him," Gabriel promised before disappearing with Sam in his arms.

Dean stared at the spot where his brother had disappeared from and broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gabriel appeared with Sam in the house he had in the new dimension. He appeared right in Sam's room, wanting to get the boy to bed. The room was a typical small child's room. It had a small bed in the middle of the room with bedding with cartoon characters on it and a stuffed bear laid on it. There was a small, blue and white dresser for Sam's clothes on the the left of the bed and toy box full of any toys a kid could want on the right. Gabriel knew Sam wouldn't be interested in any of that now, but when he regressed, he would like it. Gabriel had everything set up before he approached Dean.

Gabriel placed Sam down on the bed. "Stay there please."

Sam was completely despondent. The anger was gone. Well, not gone, but taken over by shock and mental exhaustion. He just didn't have it in him to even yell anymore. He couldn't believe this was happening. His whole life had changed in mere minutes.

Gabriel went over the the dresser and picked out a pair of pajamas. It was a white shirt and a pair of plaid bottoms. It was the most neutral thing he had for him. Everything else had some kind of child-like look to it and he didn't want to risk a fight over it.

Gabriel brought the clothes over to Sam. "Okay, why don't you change into these and we'll get you into bed."

Some of Sam's defiance came back and he glared at Gabriel, crossing his arms and refusing to move.

Gabriel sighed. "I'll change you myself if you'd prefer."

Sam huffed and snatched the clothing from the archangel's hands. He then quickly got undressed and into the pajamas.

Once he saw that Sam was done, he drew back the comforter on the bed for him.

"I'm not really five. I don't need or want you to tuck me in," Sam said before climbing into bed and pulling the covers over him.

Gabriel headed to the door and shut the light off.

"I hope you know I hate you for this," Sam said, making his voice as angry as he could.

Gabriel didn't answer. He looked at him for a minute and then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam woke up the next morning to see that living nightmare he'd been thrust into last night was continuing. He'd wanted to pretend it was all a dream, but that was shot to hell the moment he opened his eyes and saw the clearly childish room, down to the bed he was currently laying on. He didn't know why Gabriel had put him in a room like this. Was it just to torment him further? He didn't need anything that was here. He didn't need the stuffed bear that he'd thrown across the room the moment he laid eyes on it or the kid sheets and blankets. He was not actually a child? Did Gabriel forget that? No, of course not. Gabriel was an archangel. He didn't forget things. He probably did it just to screw with him.

Sam could hardly believe that just a day ago, he felt guilty for Gabriel's 'death'. Right now, he wished Gabriel was dead. Well, alright, maybe he shouldn't go that far, but he did hate the bastard for this. A part of him hated Dean too, maybe even more than Gabriel. Dean was supposed to be his brother. He'd promised to always look after him. Instead, Dean had given him away to Gabriel. He'd allowed the archangel to take his choices from him. Sam would never forgive him for that.

Sam soon heard a knock on the door before it was opened and Gabriel walked in. "Morning, Kiddo. Time to get up. I've got breakfast ready."

"I'm not hungry. Leave me alone," Sam said with a glare before turning to his side, effectively dismissing the archangel. Unfortunately for him, said archangel didn't take the hint because Sam suddenly felt a pair of arms pick him out out of bed. "Hey! Put me down!"

Gabriel placed Sam on the floor next to the bed. "I said it's time for breakfast. You're not gonna sit in here and wallow." While he certainly understood the urge, the best thing for Sam was to start getting used to his new life, not sitting around in misery waiting for everything to go back to the way it was.

"And I told you I'm not hungry!" Sam yelled.

"Too bad," Gabriel said before taking the boy by the wrist and starting towards the door.

Sam jerked his arm back and refused to move. He knew he couldn't overpower the archangel, but he could make things more difficult for him. Gabriel would have to drag him if wanted to get him to go with him.

Gabriel shrugged and picked Sam up under the arms. He placed him on his hip and started walking out of the room.

Sam immediately started kicking at the archangel. "Put me down, you son of a bitch!"

Gabriel stopped abruptly and put Sam down, but he didn't let him go. He turned him to the side and gave him a light warning smack on the butt.

"Ow!" Sam exclaimed. He couldn't believe Gabriel had just spanked him like an actual five-year-old. Where the hell did he get off? Sam was a grown man.

"You kick at me again and there's more where that came from," Gabriel warned. He hadn't wanted things to start like this, but one thing he would not stand for was a temper tantrum. He didn't take it from the younger angels in Heaven and he certainly wasn't with Sam now, especially when Sam had not yet regressed. He still would've gotten the slap if he had, but there was even less of an excuse when Sam's mind was twenty-six. Gabriel had allowed it yesterday because he was acting out of fear and shock, but now he was purposely trying to be difficult. "Now, I will give you another chance to walk downstairs with me or I carry you, and you will remain still if that's the case! What will it be?"

"Walk," Sam said through gritted teeth, while he still tried to get over the fact that he just got smacked on the ass.

"Good," Gabriel said before taking his hand and leading him downstairs.

Sam looked around as they passed the living room. It was really big. It held two large, blue couches, two matching recliners, a large glass coffee table in the middle, and a flat screen TV near the wall by the door. It all looked huge to Sam. Then again, everything did now. He was only a couple of feet tall. Everything was enormous to him.

Gabriel led Sam into the kitchen. It was very spacious and held state of the art appliances. There was even room for the large kitchen table at the end. "Go sit. I'll get your plate ready. What do you want to drink.

"Coffee," Sam muttered as he went to the table and sat down.

"Don't think so. Try again," Gabriel said. There was no way in hell he was putting that kind of caffeine into a five-year-old, adult mind or not. At best, Sam would be bouncing off the walls for hours.

Sam huffed. "Water."

Gabriel got Sam's plate ready and then grabbed a small cup from the cabinet. He poured some water in it and brought it and the plate over to Sam.

Sam stared at the plate. There wasn't anything wrong with the food. It was scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes. He liked all it. It was the portions. They were very small, clearly child sized with very small portions. Even the cup of water he was given was in a child sized cup, which meant there wasn't a lot in it. What was the point of making him eat if there wasn't even enough to begin to satisfy him.

Gabriel soon walked over with his own plate.

"Why is there so little?" Sam asked.

"Your body is small now, Sam. You won't be able to eat the same amount you used to. If you want more, you can have it, but eat what you have for now," Gabriel said.

Sam grudgingly had to admit that Gabriel made sense. Sam hadn't thought about it, but it was true that because he was so small, he wouldn't be able to eat the same amount. Proof of that came when he finished what was on his plate and realized he couldn't eat another bite.

"You want more?" Gabriel asked when he saw that Sam was finished.

Sam shook his head.

"Okay. You can go into the living room if you want while I finish up. Then we'll talk about a few things," Gabriel said.

Sam grumbled a bit about not wanting to talk to asshole archangels, but he got up and headed out towards the living room. He walked over to the big window behind of of the recliners. It looked like a normal place. There were several one or two story houses around them. It looked like your typical suburban neighborhood. Of course, Sam knew it couldn't be. Gabriel told him he was taking him to another dimension. Not that it really mattered. No matter how this world looked, it was still a prison for him.

Sam turned and looked at the door. He thought about just walking out, assuming it wasn't locked, and getting the hell away from there. Sure it wouldn't get him out of this damned world, but it would at least get him away from Gabriel for a bit. It would at least cause the archangel trouble, which he was all for.

"You even think about and you'll regret it," a stern voice said from behind Sam.

Sam turned and glared at the archangel. "You reading my mind."

"I don't need to. Come sit. We're going to talk about some things," Gabriel said.

Sam crossed his arms and refused to move. He supposed he was acting childish, but thanks to Gabriel, he physically was a child.

"We're going to go through this again? Walk or a I carry you," Gabriel said.

After a second, Sam slowly walked over to one of the couches and sat down. He was once again reminded of how small he was when his feet wouldn't even touch the floor.

"Thank you," Gabriel said before taking a seat next to the boy. "Listen, alright? I know this is hard for you to deal with."

"Oh, you mean turning me into a kid you think you can control or the fact that you kidnapped me?" Sam asked snidely.

"I know you're not happy with what's happened, but you have to understand that it was done for your protection. You were about to throw your life away," Gabriel said.

"So what?! What do you care about my life? What does anyone care? I am one person. I don't matter. Protecting the world is what matters," Gabriel said.

Gabriel sighed. That mentality broke his heart. No one should think their life didn't matter, that they were only good as some sort of sacrifice. Well, Gabriel was going to get rid of that mentality in Sam. Soon, Sam would be a child in every sense of the world and Gabriel was going to make sure he grew up the right away this time. He was going to know that he was loved and that his life was important. "Your life is very important and I will get you to see that."

"I don't want to be here!" Sam asked.

"Well, that's too bad, Sammy, because this is where you're staying," Gabriel said firmly.

"The hell with what I want! Even Lucifer asks for consent," Sam grumbled.

"Make no mistake about it, that is because he has no choice. And you don't always make the best choices, especially for yourself. If I had presented this idea to you, you would've said no," Gabriel said.

"Damn right! So instead you conspired with my brother!" Sam said angrily.

"Oh, no, there was no conspiring. I informed Dean of what I intended to do and gave you a chance to say goodbye. He had no say in the matter," Gabriel said.

"He could've tried to stop you. He would've if he really wanted to," Sam said, trying and failing to keep the pain from reaching his face and voice.

"Don't think your brother didn't want you anymore, Sam. He loves you more than anything. I didn't give him enough credit for how much he loves you until last night. I always knew he loved you, but he truly proved it by letting you go. He did that because he wants you to have a better life than the one you were condemned to at six-months-old," Gabriel said

"Yeah, whatever. You know, I may be stuck here, but don't expect me to make it easy for you. I swear, I will make it hell," Sam promised. He was the prince of defiance and he intended to show that to Gabriel. He would make him wish he never did this.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at the threat. "If you want to do that, the only one you'll be hurting is yourself. Oh, and let me warn you, there will be consequences to bad behavior."

"Bad behavior? I am not God damned child!" Sam yelled.

"Thank you for bringing me to the first rule of this house. That language needs to disappear by tomorrow morning," Gabriel said firmly.

"Or what? You gonna hit me again?" Sam asked annoyed.

"No, I think washing your mouth out will take care of the problem, should you decide to test me. But rest assured, I have no problem spanking you should the behavior call for it. Now, an example of behavior that would earn you that is trying to leave this house without me, as you were thinking of doing either. So will another little temper tantrum like the one you pulled upstairs," Gabriel told him. He wanted to start laying out the rules he'd be expected to follow now. That way there would be no surprises when he regressed, granted he remembered it all, and Gabriel believed he would. Besides, he believed getting Sam used to how things were going to be would help him adjust more.

"You can't be serious!" Sam said in disbelief. While he might look the part, on the inside, he was not a child. He was twenty-six-years-old. He was too hold to be punished like an actual five-year-old.

"Oh, I'm very serious, and believe me when I tell you, you won't like the consequences of testing me. Now, I think we should get you upstairs, showered, and dressed," Gabriel said before standing up.

"I'm going to make you pay for this one day, you asshole!" Sam swore.

"Remember what I said, Sammy. You've got one day to get rid of that language," Gabriel said before gently pulling him off the couch by the hand and leading him upstairs.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam was bored. He'd been suck all day on the couch with nothing to do but watch whatever stupid thing Gabriel put on TV. Well, alright, to be fair, Gabriel had offered to let him choose what they watched several times, but he'd declined, for no other reason than to be difficult.

Gabriel turned to Sam and saw that the boy looked non too pleased. Not that that surprised him. Sam hadn't been happy since before Gabriel had brought him home. But right now he was fidgety and looked bored. It might be a good idea to take him out so he could work off the pent up energy that was likely inside of him. He was after all in a child's body, and kids tended to be more energetic than adults. "What do you say we go for a walk?"

"No," Sam said stubbornly. Actually, a walk sounded good. The idea of getting some fresh are was appealing, but again, he was trying to be difficult, even at his own expense. He had promised Gabriel that he'd make things difficult. He took that promise very seriously.

Gabriel could tell what the boy was trying to do. He was going to shoot down any idea Gabriel came up with, even if it made him miserable. Well, it wasn't going to happen. "Come on, we've got about an hour before dinner. We'll go take a walk."

"I said I don't want to," Sam said in a slightly raised voice.

"Well, I do, and you go where I go," Gabriel said before walking over to the front door. There was a pair of child sized shoes by it. Gabriel picked them up and brought them over to Sam.

Sam sighed and started putting the shoes on. He would argue more, but he really did want to get out of the house. Maybe it would seem like less of a prison outside.

Gabriel put his own shoes on and went over to the boy and held out his hand. "Come on."

Sam didn't take the archangel's hand, but he did get up and go over to the door.

Gabriel followed him and the two of them walked outside and down the street.

Sam looked around at the normal looking neighborhood. "I thought we were in another dimension."

"We are," Gabriel confirmed.

"It looks just like Earth," Sam said.

"This part of it does because I added some things to make it look normal. The rest of it is just a bunch of land," Gabriel said.

"So, it's not real?" Sam asked.

"Sure it is, just like our house and everything in it is real. It's more like I just conjured things. Anything that exists in the world, I can create," Gabriel said. About the only difference with that was people. He could create something resembling a human, but they weren't real. They looked and felt real, but they had no personality and no feelings. They were more like robots, only they weren't made of machines.

"It's not my house," Sam grumbled, not even really paying attention to the rest of what Gabriel said.

Gabriel decided to ignore the comment. There was no reason to engage in an argument right now. So the two of them just kept walking. They walked down a few streets until they came to park with a playground.

"Why would you make a park?" Sam wondered. There were no actual children here, or even humans, so he didn't see the point.

Gabriel shrugged. "I told you, I wanted things to look normal. Every town has a playground in it." Actually, he'd made the park to take Sam to when his mind changed. He'd planned to even create children, fake, of course, for him to play with. They also had a swing-set and pool in their backyard, but there were times when they'd both need a change in scenery, and every kid liked going to the park from time to time.

"So this place is only the size of a town," Sam asked as they kept walking.

Gabriel laughed. "Oh, no. Our part is. I told you, I only made adjustments to some if it. The rest of the dimension is much bigger, though not as big as Earth. I'd say it's about the size of a few states, so not actually that big compared to the whole planet of Earth. It doesn't need to be though. Except for you and me, there's no one here."

"Why was it created then?" Sam wondered.

"Not sure. Dad created a lot of things. Some he ended up using, some he didn't. This one was basically tossed aside. He just never bothered to destroy it," Gabriel said.

"What's to stop Michael or Lucifer from finding us here?" Sam asked. Honestly, he wanted them to find them. Well, sort of. They would at least get him out of there, away from the archangel bent on controlling his every move. Of course, he wasn't sure what they'd do to him when they learned they couldn't change him back, but he felt like it had to be better than spending centuries as a five-year-old.

"There are a lot of dimensions in the universe, Sammy. It would take them a long time to search them all. Besides, when they learn you're with me, they will probably also know how young you are and that there's no fixing it. There won't be any point of looking," Gabriel explained.

"There's always revenge," Sam said.

"Revenge isn't really Michael's style. Don't get me wrong, if you've pissed him off and you're in front of him, he will take it, but he won't waste his time going looking for it, especially if there's no point to it," Gabriel said. Of course, Lucifer was another matter. He did enjoy revenge and probably would look for Gabriel. If he lived anyway, which Gabriel doubted he would. It was highly unlikely Lucifer would be the winner even with Sam as his vessel since Michael was more powerful, but in such a mediocre one, he stood no chance, especially since Dean had made his intentions to say yes very clear.

"What about Lucifer?" Sam wondered.

"Well, even if he looked, it would take him a while. He'd want to handle the thing with Michael first. Michael wouldn't wait long enough for him to search the universe," Gabriel said. That would be especially true when Michael took Dean, but Gabriel had no intention of mentioning that to Sam. Sam hadn't seemed to come to the conclusion that Dean was going to consent, and Gabriel hoped he wouldn't. Sam did not need to know what his brother was sacrificing.

After a bit, Sam started to slow down as they walked. He was getting tired. He wasn't sure why. It wasn't late and they couldn't have been walking more than a half hour. He'd walked much longer than this without it being a problem.

Gabriel noticed that Sam was slowing down. "What's the matter? Are your getting tired? You wanna go back."

"No, I'm fine," Sam said. He wasn't going to admit any kind of problem to Gabriel. Besides, he didn't want to go back to the house yet. Actually, he didn't want to go back at all.

"Alright, but let me know when you start to get tired. Your body's small and not used to extensive walking, especially at this time of night," Gabriel said. It was almost five. It was around this time that kids started to wind down.

"Whatever," Sam said as he continued to walk.

"We'll go for another ten minutes or so and then we should get back anyway," Gabriel said.

Sam barely made it the ten minutes before he stopped and started rubbing his eyes. He was getting really tired. It was like it just snuck up on him. Come to think of it, he could remember things like this happening as a kid. He'd be okay one minute and then just like pass out ten minutes later. He could only guess it was a little kid thing.

Gabriel stopped and sighed. "So you are tired."

"I said I'm fine," Sam mumbled. Of course, it was much less convincing than the last time.

"Come on, we're going back," Gabriel said before picking him up. He really should make him walk for lying to him, but he wasn't so cruel. Besides, he knew Sam wouldn't be pleased with him carrying him, so he still got a bit of a punishment in there.

"Hey! I don't need you to carry me. I can walk just fine," Sam said.

"You can barely hold your head up," Gabriel said.

"Well, can't you just teleport us then," Sam asked.

"I suppose, but this way you learn a lesson. The next time I ask you if you're tired, you tell me the truth. You're lucky I don't pull you over my knee. In the future, I will not tolerate lies," Gabriel said.

Sam huffed a bit, but didn't say anything else, and soon he felt himself drop his head onto Gabriel's shoulder and he began to fall asleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

When Gabriel arrived back at the house, Sam was fast asleep. Gabriel wanted to leave him there and let him sleep, but he decided that it might not be the best idea. The kid would be up in the middle of the night if he did that.

Gabriel put Sam on the couch and started to shake him. "Sammy. Come on, buddy, you need to get up."

Sam groaned and tried to push the hand shaking him away.

"Sam, you can't sleep right now," Gabriel said.

"Leave me alone," Sam said as he turned away, half asleep.

"No, kiddo. You have to get up. I don't want you up all night. You can go to sleep in a little bit, but I want you to get up now," Gabriel said.

Sam huffed and opened his eyes. "I hate you."

"I'm sorry, kiddo. It's partially my fault. I forgot that even though your mind is twenty-six, your body is five and needs more sleep. I should've made you take a nap hours ago," Gabriel said. He thought about that on the way back. A walk shouldn't really have put him over like that. It might make him a bit tired, but not like that, which meant he was probably getting a bit tired before they left.

If Sam wasn't so tired right now, he'd probably be outraged at the idea of such a thing, but he was too tired to care. "When will you let me sleep?"

"Soon. I want you to at least eat dinner. Then it should be late enough for you to just go to sleep for the night. Come on, come sit at the table while I get dinner ready," Gabriel said before taking the boy's hand and helping him off the couch. It was almost six now, so it would still be pretty early when Sam went to bed, but hopefully not too early that he wouldn't sleep through the night.

"Make it quick," Sam demanded with a grumble as he was led into the kitchen. He took a seat the table and waited.

Gabriel did make it quick. He made a couple of burgers and salads and brought it to the table, along with two glasses of milk.

Sam got through his salad and half his burger before he began to nod off again.

Gabriel got up and picked the boy up. "Alright, you've had enough. Let's get you to bed."

The fact that Sam didn't protest when Gabriel picked him up was a testament to how tired he was. Hell, he didn't even put up a fight when Gabriel helped him into his pajamas and tucked him into bed.

Gabriel just finished pulling the covers over his charge snugly. "Alright, kiddo. I'll see you in the morning."

Sam didn't answer of course. He was sound asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam woke up the next morning feeling much better than he did the night before. In fact, he remembered letting Gabriel carry him to bed and help him with his pajamas. That irritated him quite a bit. He was supposed to be fighting Gabriel at every chance he got, not helping the bastard treat him like a child. He just hadn't been able to help it. He'd been so tired that he could barely lift his own.

Well, Sam was just going to have to double his efforts today. He would not let the son of a bitch archangel get away with the sick need to turn him into a child. It was clear to Sam that that was what was going on here. The room Sam was in alone was proof of that. So were the rules Gabriel informed him of. Rules Sam would definitely be breaking.

Sam sat up and looked around and glared. God he hated this room. He was currently staring at a bookshelf with a bunch of small books that were obviously designed for children. There was also what looked like a toy box nearby. He'd seen it all of course yesterday, but it still didn't cease to anger him every time.

Sam got up and went over to the toy box. He opened it and found it to be riddled with toy cars and trucks, action figures, legos, building blocks, etc. It only served to make his anger worse. It wasn't enough that Gabriel turned him into a child. He also had to create the environment that he was one. But what was even the point of it. Gabriel couldn't really believe he'd make use of any of this crap, could he? Unless he did. Had he thought Sam would turn into an actual child, mind and all. Had the archangel really been stupid enough to try a spell that he didn't know the results of.

Sam grabbed the first toy he saw from the box and stormed angrily out of the room. He went downstairs and threw the living room into the kitchen. He found Gabriel there making breakfast.

Gabriel turned when he heard Sam come in. "Morning, kiddo. Did you sleep well?"

Sam glared and held up the toy car he brought down. "What the hell is this?"

"Well, it looks to me like a toy car. And watch your language please," Gabriel admonished lightly.

"Screw you! Why is there a box full of little kid toys in my room, and a bookshelf of picture books? You may be a dick that has some perverted need to control my every move, and maybe you even have an obsession with playing 'Daddy', but you can't be such a dumb ass that you actually think I'd act like a five-year-old when I have my adult mind! Did you think I was going to regress mentally too?"

"I am giving you one last chance to calm down and lose the inappropriate language. I suggest you take advantage of it," Gabriel said in a calm yet stern voice. Normally he wouldn't even give the boy another warning, but he could tell Sam was upset and might not be able to appreciate the consequences of his actions, so he would give him one last chance.

"Go to hell, you freaking asshole! You cast that damn spell not knowing what it would do, didn't you?!" Sam yelled.

Gabriel snapped his fingers to make sure breakfast wouldn't burn before grabbing Sam by the hand and pulling him towards the downstairs bathroom, which was located just off the kitchen.

"Hey! Let go!" Sam exclaimed as he was pulled from the room.

Gabriel ignored him and pulled him into the bathroom. He lifted Sam up and sat him down on the bathroom sink before reaching under the sink and pulling out a bar of soap.

Sam rolled his eyes as he realized what the archangel planned. It was just more proof that the bastard did have some need to control him.

After opening the package of soap, he ran it under water and then brought it to Sam's mouth. "Open up."

Sam bit his lip and turned away.

Gabriel took him by the chin with his free hand and turned him back towards him. He then leaned down to look the boy in the eye. "You open your mouth or I will give you a sore butt to go along with a mouth washing.

Sam huffed, but opened his mouth. There wasn't really anything he could do to stop Gabriel from doing what he wanted. Besides, it wasn't that big a deal. So Gabriel was going to make him taste soap. That was nothing. He was a hunter. He'd been through much worse in his life.

Gabriel placed the bar of soap in Sam's mouth and started scrubbing it thoroughly.

Sam began to squirm as the soap filling his mouth. It was absolutely disgusting, worse than he thought it would be. This was one experience he'd never had before. His father never really cared if he and his brother swore. They were never punished for it or even lectured over it unless they were in public. If anything like this had happened as a child, Sam knew neither he or his brother would have such a vulgar vocabulary, at least not until they reached adulthood.

Gabriel removed the bar of soap and threw it away. "You have two minutes to keep that in there. I warned you several times yesterday about your language and even warned you again when you were having your little tantrum."

Sam did nothing but glare at the archangel. He considered spitting the soap out, but he figured Gabriel would just repeat the process. Sam really did not want to go through this again.

After a couple of minutes, Gabriel snapped his fingers and cup of water appeared in his hand. "Alright, you can spit it out now."

Sam wasted no time in leaning over the sink and spitting out every bit of soap he could. Then he took the cup from Gabriel and rinsed his mouth several times before drinking the remainder of the water and putting the cup down on the sink. "That was disgusting you ba..." He trailed off as the vulgar name was about to leave his mouth. He did not want to relive this experience so soon.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at the boy's cut off sentence. "But apparently effective. Now, if there's something you want to talk to me about calmly, go ahead."

Sam scowled at him. "You mean how you used to spell on me without knowing the consequences? You thought it would change my mind too, didn't you?"

"Age regression isn't a science, Sam. It's not done very often," Gabriel said. It was very close to a lie, which he didn't like. He was letting Sam think he was right, that he misjudged the spell, instead of telling him that it wasn't yet complete. He didn't like deceiving the kid, especially considering he'd already made it clear he expected the truth from Sam, but he decided that misleading Sam was better than the alternative. The truth would scare the hell out of the kid. Sam didn't need to be waiting for what would happen. Hopefully when it happened, Sam wouldn't even be able to comprehend what had happened. That way he wouldn't know to be afraid.

"So I'm right! You did this thinking I'd turn into a child mentally too. I bet that's even what you wanted. You wanted who I am to disappear and mold what was left into what you wanted," Sam said with a sneer.

"No, I wanted to give you a better life. You shouldn't have grown up the way you did. I wanted to change that," Gabriel said.

"Yeah, well, you don't get to just change people because you don't like the life they've led! You had no right to do this to me!" Sam yelled.

"I'm afraid we disagree on that, and given that there's no changing what's happened, there's no point in arguing about it," Gabriel said before picking Sam up and setting him on the floor. Then he took his hand and started out of the room with him. "Come on, it's breakfast time."

Sam grumbled to himself the whole way to the kitchen. He sat at the table with his arms crossed in a typical angry child fashion as he waited for Gabriel to finish breakfast.

Ten minutes later, Gabriel set a small plate of cut up french toast and a cup of orange juice in front of Sam. Then he sat down with his own plate. A couple of minutes into his meal, he noticed Sam hadn't taken a single bite. "Sam, eat."

"I'm not hungry," Sam grumbled. He was already still pissed. That had only gotten worse when Gabriel gave him a plate with already cup up food in front of him. He could cut his own food. He didn't need a bastard archangel to do it for him.

"You're lying. You're refusing to eat as some form of protest and that's not acceptable. Eat, now!" Gabriel ordered.

"Unless you're gonna force feed me, you can't make me," Sam said in a challenging tone.

"No, but I can make you sit in that chair until you eat," Gabriel came back with. If Sam wanted to act like a little brat, he would be treated like one. Sam Winchester would learn that his stubbornness was nothing compared to Gabriel's.

"We'll see," Sam sneered before getting up out of his chair. He was done with this whole thing. He was not going to sit there and be treated like a child any longer. The archangel could go screw himself with his damned orders.

Gabriel was at Sam's side in seconds and took his arm, turning him to the side. He spanked him three times before the boy even knew what was happening.

"Ow! Stop! You can't do this!" Sam yelled as he tried to yank himself free.

Gabriel spun him around to face him. "Enough! You need to stop testing me right now! I promise you, you will not like what happens!"

"You can't treat me like this! I am not a child!" Sam yelled.

"Yeah, you could've fooled me. Refusing to eat out of anger and throwing tantrums are things children do. So if you want to act like a petulant little brat, you will be treated that way," Gabriel warned him.

"If you don't like the way I act, let me go!" Sam screamed.

"Keep your voice down! I can hear you just fine on a normal level. Let me make something perfectly clear to you. You're not going anywhere. I don't care how defiant you try to be. You will not push me into tossing you out. Believe me, you are not the first child I've dealt with," Gabriel said before pointing to the chair Sam had just vacated. "Sit down."

Sam stared at Gabriel for a minute before doing what he asked. As he sat there, he vowed he would find a way out of there. He didn't care what it took.


	7. Chapter 7

Dean sat in Bobby's kitchen with him and Cas. After drinking himself nearly to the point of alcohol poisoning and drowning in his own misery for a couple of days, Dean figured it was time to end things once and for all. He'd been on his way to Bobby's to explain things when he got a call from Cas, who was in the hospital and apparently human. He immediately went to get him and then they went on to Bobby's.

"What the hell did you just say?" Bobby asked after Dean explained what happened with Sam. He felt like he must be hearing things because even in his most desperate moment, Dean would not allow someone to turn his little brother into a pint sized version of himself and then disappear with him.

"Yeah, I know, it's a little freaky," Dean said before taking a sip of his beer.

"Try a lot! Didn't even think it was possible," Bobby said. It was worse than that though. Dean had agreed to let this happen. Why the hell would he do that?

"Almost anything is possible for an archangel," Castiel said.

"It was actually a Pagan ritual, and Gabriel said it's permanent," Dean said.

"I am unsure what Gabriel was trying to accomplish. How does this help anything?" Castiel asked confused.

"What do you mean? Gabriel said children can't consent to angel possession? Shouldn't you know that?" Dean asked.

"Well, yes, I did. Although, I don't know if it's just the body that needs to be young or the mind too. I suppose Gabriel would know," Castiel said.

"His mind will be young soon enough. Gabriel said that his mind will regress within a couple of weeks," Dean said.

"I still do not see how this is helpful. Yes, Lucifer cannot take his vessel, but how does that prevent the apocalypse?" Castiel wondered.

"It doesn't. It just keeps my brother out of it," Dean said. He honestly really didn't care about the apocalypse anymore. The second this war cost him his brother, he stopped caring about it. He'd still say yes to Michael, but not really to save whatever he could of the world. No, he'd do it to pay those bastards back for what they took from him. That and to make sure it was over and there was no reason whatsoever for either Michael or Lucifer, whoever was left standing, to go after his brother. Sam would be safe.

"Why would you do this? Sam wasn't even going to consent. You told me the plan was to shove Lucifer back in the cage," Bobby said.

"Yeah, he was, Bobby. Gabriel told me Sam was going to take Lucifer in so that he could overpower him and jump in. That way they'd both be in the cage," Dean explained.

"That's impossible. Sam would never be able to gain enough control to do that," Castiel said.

"Gabriel says he did. He looked into the future and saw what would happen," Dean said.

"And you believed him? How do you know he wasn't screwing with you?" Bobby asked. Why had Dean put so much trust into the trickster/archangel? The bastard had tricked him and Sam enough times that they should know not to trust him.

"What would be the point of that? To get me to agree? He didn't need me to agree. He wasn't even asking me to. He was going to do what he wanted no matter what I said. He made that clear. Besides, I know he was telling the truth because Sam admitted he planned to say yes to Lucifer. Making sure he couldn't was the only way to protect him," Dean explained.

"Alright, fine, even if de-aging him was the only way, why would you hand him over to some bastard angel, especially one that killed you hundreds of times, which tortured the hell out of Sam? What were you thinking there?" Bobby asked.

"It was the only way. I had to get Sam away from where Michael and Lucifer could get to him, and where he wouldn't be affected by whatever happens to this planet," Dean said.

That last statement earned Dean a look from Castiel. Castiel didn't like his friend's last statement. It sounded like he was giving up, just as he had not to long ago. It sounded like he was ready to say yes and let the fight happen.

"But you left him with another archangel, and he can't even protect himself against him now," Bobby said. Truthfully, Sam would find it hard to protect himself against an archangel even as an adult, but he'd have no chance now.

"Sam does not need to protect himself against Gabriel. Gabriel would never harm a child," Castiel said confidently. He remembered Gabriel just a little from when he was a fledgling. He was a very good older brother. He played with them and taught then, and of course he disciplined them when it was necessary. He could be strict, but he was also very loving. He was very good with children.

"I agree with Cas. Look, Bobby, I was kind of worried before. Even as I prepared to let Gabriel do what he had to do, I didn't really trust him, simply because I barely trusted anyone with Sam. But I saw how he was with Sam right after he changed him. Sam was angry and freaked out. Gabriel handled him like a pro. He tried to comfort and reassure him. It didn't work, but he was very gentle," Dean said.

Castiel nodded. "Gabriel can be very gentle, though I wouldn't envy Sam if he pushes him too far, as Gabriel is very firm."

"Sam probably needs both of those things. While we had plenty of firmness from our dad, it was mostly him screaming at us and barking orders at us. It wasn't exactly the most effective. A lot of things he'd yell, especially to Sam, were pretty cruel," Dean said. He loved his dad, but he'd realized in the last few years that he had to let the hero worship go and see the man for who he really was. He had a lot of faults.

"Gabriel won't do that, but he will make sure Sam leans from his mistakes," Castiel said.

"And how's that," Bobby asked with narrowed eyes. He swore if that bastard did anything to his boy, archangel and unknown dimension be damned, he would kill the SOB.

"The same as any human parent, I suppose, by punishing him," Castiel said. He didn't elaborate further than that. He knew that some humans no longer believed in the practice of physical punishments, mainly because a lot of humans took it too far. Gabriel didn't though. He knew the line between punishment and Abuse. He wouldn't cross it. However, Castiel was unsure of how Bobby or Dean would take Gabriel's parenting style, so he chose not to mention it. "He will keep Sam in line, but make sure he knows he's loved as well."

"He's gonna have his work cut out for him with Sammy. The kid was defiant and stubborn as hell. It won't be any different this time around, especially at first," Dean said before taking a swig of his beer.

"You really trust him with Sam?" Bobby asked.

Dean nodded. "I saw him, Bobby. I know he was sincere. He will take care of Sammy. Hell, I almost wish I could've believed he'd be bad to Sam so I could justify trying to fight him."

Bobby sighed. He really hated this. His boy was gone and they were forced to trust a being they barely knew, and what they did know about him was nothing but cruel tricks. But if Dean trusted him, he must have proven himself. Dean didn't trust at the drop of a hat, especially not with Sam. It took a lot for the hunter to trust someone with his baby brother. "Alright, I get it. I just can't believe we won't see him again."

Dean let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, I know."

"Dean, what do you plan to do now?" Castiel asked carefully.

"You're not gonna like my answer, Cas," Dean said as he downed the rest of his beer.

"You cannot let Michael in. I thought we got that through to you. You cannot give up!" Castiel said.

"Oh, this isn't giving up. This is making those assholes pay!" Dean growled.

"What do you mean?" Castiel asked.

Dean got up and went to the fridge, pulling himself out another beer. Then he used the bottle opener on the counter to open it. "They took my brother away from me. I had to send him with an archangel to some other dimension. I will never see him again because they couldn't leave us alone. I'm going to make them pay for that."

"By giving them what they want?" Bobby asked as if it was ludicrous.

"Yes," Dean said matter-of-factly. "Lucifer's going to die by my hands and Big Brother Michael is going to be the reason. He's going to have to live with that for eternity." Dean had to say, that was what he wanted the most. He would take pleasure in Lucifer's Death, but was Michael he really wanted to suffer. Lucifer had sent his demons after Sam to get himself free, but on some level, Dean could almost understand that. Lucifer was the Devil. He was supposed to be an evil SOB. It was Michael and the rest of his dickhead brothers that really pissed Dean off. They were supposed to be the good guys, and instead, they played Dean and Sam like fiddles to start the apocalypse. If there had been any decency in them at all, they would've tried to stop Lucifer from getting out of his cage. Instead, they helped it along. They were the reason Dean had lost his brother, and while Dean couldn't make them all pay, he could make Michael."

"First of all, you're assuming Michael will be the winner. What happens if the Devil wins?" Bobby asked. There were many more flaws in Dean's revenge plan, but he'd start there.

"He won't," Castiel said. "Michael is more powerful than Lucifer when they are on equal footing. Without Sam, Lucifer would be at a severe disadvantage. It would be impossible for him to win against Michael in his true vessel. I still do not understand your revenge plan for Michael, Dean. You wish for Michael to kill his own brother. I can only assume you think that somehow this will hurt Michael, but why would it. It is what he wants."

"No, it's not. He told me himself when you sent us back in time to stop Anna that he doesn't want this. He said he loves Lucifer. The problem is, he thinks his brother's life is worth making Daddy happy, that he'll be able to live with anything as long as he can keep being the good son. He'll find out that he's wrong, and I intend to be there when he does," Dean said. He wanted Michael's pain. He intended to relish in it. It might be the last thing he ever felt, but it would be worth it.

"Dean, do you understand what you're saying. You're willing to sacrifice half the world for revenge?" Bobby asked. That wasn't the boy he knew. Then again, without Sam, Dean didn't seem much left to fight for. He might care about the world, but it didn't mean much to him without his baby brother.

"And it'll be better if I let things play out the way they are? We're just giving Lucifer more time to destroy mankind. This way at least maybe some will life. But frankly, I don't really care about the world. It's not my responsibility anymore. I didn't start this, they did. All I care about now is making them pay," Dean said before walking out of the room.

Castiel shuddered as he stared at the spot Dean had left. He knew there was no stopping him this time. Losing Sam was the last straw for Dean. He was no longer the Righteous Man. He no longer a man who was willing to sacrifice everything to save the world because he had nothing left to sacrifice. Now, all Dean was was a man who was hell bent on making those who took everything from him pay.


	8. Chapter 8

Dean was packing his car for his last mission. He knew he probably wouldn't need any of the weapons he'd packed, as the only weapon he actually needed was Michael, but he always went into battle prepared. Besides, one way or another, he didn't plan on coming back this way for a long time.

Bobby and Castiel came outside just as Dean finished up. "Dean, reconsider this course of action, please," Castiel said.

Dean turned towards him. "Sorry, Cas, but I can't do that. The only thing I have left right now is my desire to make Michael suffer. It's one thing I'm not willing to give up. Besides, even if I do nothing, this will go down. Right now, Michael has Adam, and it's pretty likely that he got him to say yes or will do so. I can't put that on him. I have to get this done, that way both Adam and Sam will be free. Hey, Michael will accept me even if he has Adam, right?"

Castiel nodded. "If at all possible, he will want this to go down the way it is supposed to. That means with him in your body."

Bobby wheeled his chair over to Dean. "Where do you plan to go?"

"I don't know. I just want to get as far away as I can before I call him. I"m hoping that if this goes down far enough away, you guys won't get hurt. Uh, I won't be coming back for a long time even if I do live through this, I won't be coming back for a while. I'll need to be alone to figure out what to do next. But if I make it, I'll let you know," Dean promised Bobby.

Bobby took a hold of his wrist. "I will be expecting that call, boy. You damn well better make it."

Dean nodded. He bent down and hugged the old man for a second and then got up and turned to Castiel. "Thanks for everything, Cas. I know it didn't work out, but I still appreciate everything you did."

"That is the same for me. I would come with you if I could," Castiel said. At this point, he would serve no purpose to Dean. He was completely powerless. Besides, this wasn't like he would serve much of a purpose if he did have powers.

"I know. Thanks," Dean said. He gave them both one last look, before getting into the car and driving away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Dean drove for hours before turning off to a deserted forest area. It was time to do this. He got out of the car and walked further into the woods, just in case someone happened to show up. He then looked up towards the sky. "Alright, Michael! If you want me, get your ass down here!"

"Now? You wish to comply now?" A voice said from behind the hunter.

Dean turned and looked at Michael. No, he looked at Adam, because it was Adam's body the archangel was using. It saddened him to see that Adam had been forced to house Michael, but what saddened him the most was that if he'd had the presence of mind to remember that Michael had vessel in Adam, he might have gone with Gabriel when he offered. He was ashamed that he would've considered abandoning Adam, but to be with Sam, he probably would've. It didn't matter now though. He had been too overwhelmed to remember, so here he was. "Get out of my brother and take what you want?"

"What makes you think I need you now? I have a suitable vessel. Now all I need to do is what for Lucifer to take his, and since you've come to give yourself over and I don't see Sam anywhere, I assume it'll happen shortly.

"If you weren't interested in taking me, you wouldn't be here right now. I'm guessing I'm still better than Adam. Plus, you want your true vessel to do that. And Lucifer will never get my brother," Dean said firmly.

Michael shrugged. "I suppose you're partially correct. You would be my better option. Your latter statement, however, is false. Your brother will say yes. I offer proof with your own offer to let me in. You have realized your destiny and so will he. If you came here hoping that I'd simply end Lucifer in the mediocre vessel he has now, I'm afraid you were mistaken. I will wait if I must. I'm sorry, but Sam's destiny is to die with Lucifer.

"You'll be waiting a while. So do it. Yes," Dean said impatiently.

Michael frowned slightly. Dean didn't seem the least bit worried about his brother, even after Michael told him he'd wait until Sam gave in. It led him to believe that he was wrong about Dean's reason for finally giving in. Why was he then? Dean had refused him for almost a year. He was he suddenly so ready to give in?

Michael decided to look at Dean's thoughts. He was shocked to find that the only thing Dean was thinking about was revenge. Michael didn't know what exactly Dean sought vengeance for, but his vessel seemed to wish for his suffering, and he believed that killing Lucifer would cause such suffering. He wasn't completely off base. "You want me to suffer. Why?"

Dean's eyes held nothing but fury in them. "Because you're worse than anything I've ever encountered in my life. You've done more damage than anything else ever has or could, and the worst part is that you think there's anything good about you. I hate you more than the demon that killed my mother and brought me into this life. I hate you more than Lucifer even. You took everything from me! The only thing I have left is the desire to feel your pain when you plunge your sword into your brother's chest. Right now, you cling to the belief that your following Daddy's will. You think that'll be enough to take away your pain. I promise you, it won't."

"I know that. I harbor no delusions that I will come out of this without pain," Michael responded.

"Maybe not, but you don't know how bad the pain will be. You can't even imagine it. When you finally feel it, you'll wish you were the one to die," Dean said. He knew this because it was how he felt. He hadn't killed his brother or even harmed him, but he lost him and it was slowly killing him. So he knew it would be worse for Michael. "That's the moment I want to feel from you. I want to see it break you."

Michael was quite surprised by the anger... no, the hatred Dean Winchester felt for him. Dean was supposed to be like him, but Michael had never felt such hate before. Even when Lucifer betrayed all of them, he never felt hatred. He never felt the need to live for revenge alone, as Dean claimed he did. But it didn't truly matter. All that mattered was that Dean had agreed. "I'm afraid I don't break easily, but if I will take you up on your offer if you're ready."

"Yes," Dean said.

Within seconds, Adam's body fell to the ground and Dean was engulfed by a bright light.

Dean could honestly say that getting possessed by an archangel was the most unpleasant thing he'd ever felt in his life. Michael's presence was overwhelming. Dean could feel his power as it weighed him down further and further until it successfully pushed down into the background of his body.

"I apologize for that. I know that it could not be pleasant," Michael said.

"What's wrong with Adam? Why isn't he getting up?" Dean asked from deep inside his own body. He could still see and hear everything, and apparently he could still speak to Michael.

"I sent his soul back to Heaven. That was my agreement with him. I keep my word," Michael said.

"Yeah, you're awesome," Dean said sarcastically.

Michael took a moment to familiarize himself with Dean's memories. It literally took seconds, however, it left him stunned. Well, one memory in particular left him stunned. The memory of his baby brother making it impossible for Sam Winchester to ever fulfill his destiny. Gabriel had used a Pagan ritual to turn Sam back into a child and then took him away. "No!"

"I guess you're not the only one who can screw with people, Asshole," Dean said.

"This cannot happen! It will centuries before he's old enough to consent! I can't wait that long!" Michael yelled. If Gabriel had been truthful to Dean, it would take a very long time before Sam would be old enough to consent, at least a half a millennium. And Michael was sure that Gabriel had been truthful. He would ensure his plan was successful. Michael could not wait that long. Lucifer could do too much damage in that amount of time. He could completely destroy Earth by then.

"Then let's get the show on the road," Dean suggested.

"This is not the way it's supposed to go!" Michael yelled in frustration.

"Well it certainly shoots your theory on free will down, doesn't it? You're not getting my brother, so I guess you're just gonna have to improvise. Think of it this way. It's an easy win," Dean said.

Michael sighed. This was not how things were supposed to happen, but Dean was correct. He would need to work with what he had. He would have to stop Lucifer in the vessel he currently wore. It was the only option.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Lucifer felt it as his brother took his true vessel. He'd felt it as he'd taken Dean and Sam's half brother as well, but taking Dean had much more significance. It meant the Winchester's were giving up. Well, Dean was anyway, and if Dean had, Sam would soon join, even if it took a tiny bit of persuasion. In any event, he could now find Dean with Michael inside him, which meant he could also get to Sam, since neither brother ventured far from the other.

When Lucifer made it to the battleground, Michael was there waiting. "Michael. I see you finally got Dean to say yes."

Michael simply nodded in response.

"Where's Sam?" Lucifer wondered.

"I'm afraid your vessel has been taken out of the equation," Michael said.

"What?" Lucifer asked with an edge to his voice.

"Sam is gone," Michael said.

"You mean he's dead? Please, either of us could bring him back. Have you forgotten that we're, archangels," Lucifer asked. As he said it though, he couldn't help but be nervous. Michael knew all this, yet he seemed sure that Sam was unreachable. What was going on?

"It's more complicated than that, brother," Michael said as he approached his brother. He touched Lucifer's forehead, sharing his vessel's memory of Sam and Gabriel with him.

"No! He wouldn't dare!" Lucifer raged as he shrunk away from his older brother. Gabriel had somehow managed to survive and had not only managed to steal his vessel, but also made him unusable.

"I won't deny that it surprises me as well. I would've expected him to try to stop us, but he knows this action won't. It appears he has a soft spot for your vessel and doesn't want to see him reach such a terrible end," Michael said.

"He will pay for this! I will kill him for betraying me!" Lucifer fumed.

"It won't get to that point, Lucifer. It's time," Michael said.

Lucifer looked at his brother in disbelief. "You can't be serious! This is not the way it is supposed to go!"

"No, but it's the only way. I don't like having to do it this way, but I cannot allow you to destroy Father's creations while you wait for Sam to age, and we both know you will," Michael said. He truly hated this. It was supposed to be at least a mostly fair fight. Instead, it was more like an execution, because Lucifer barely had a chance of fighting against him in that vessel.

"They are not worth saving!" Lucifer snarled before lunging at his brother.

Michael allowed his full power to make itself known as he pulled his brother up the shirt and tossed him through the air like a rag doll. The Earth shook and and the sky opened up as it all went down.

Lucifer picked himself up and glared at his brother. "I'm not going to make this easy for you." He knew he couldn't win in this vessel. He was going to lose this fight. But he would not fall to his knees and let his brother execute him like an animal."

"I don't expect you to," Michael said.

Lucifer charged his brother again and slammed him to the ground so hard that he heard a crack in the ground.

Michael kicked his brother off of him and got up. He pulled Lucifer up by the back of the shirt and turned him to face him. "I never wanted this. It didn't have to happen! If you had not betrayed us, none of this would've happened!"

Lucifer headbutted his brother, sending him a few feet away and to the ground. "You are the one who betrayed me! You locked me in the cage!"

"You rebelled!" Michael yelled as he approached him. He grabbed him and pushed him onto one of the many graves in the cemetery, breaking the headstone. He conjured his blade and bent down over his brother. "You turned against us!"

"No! You turned against me!" Lucifer snarled.

"You left me no choice! Just as you have now. I'm sorry," Michael said before plunging the knife into his chest. Lucifer was engulfed in white light as he died and there was a burned outline of his wings when he died. The weather problems and earthquakes stopped with his death.

The hand with Michael's archangel blade shook wildly as he looked down at his dead baby brother. No part of his body had ever shaken before in his long life. Every action he'd taken had been with firmness, steadiness, and with no regrets. Even when he didn't like an order, he carried it out without sorrow. But never had he been asked to kill his brother, and not just any brother, his first. Lucifer had been the very first being, aside from their father that he ever loved. He raised Lucifer since the moment he was created. He'd cherished him. Now his brother laid dead, killed by him.

The pain was so bad, almost unbearable. He'd been meant to protect Lucifer, but instead he'd been forced to kill him. Dean was right. Michael had known it would be painful, but he didn't think it would be nearly as bad as the hunter had warned him it would be. It was. It was excruciating. Why had he fought for this so brutally?

Underneath Michael, Dean felt all of it. He felt all of Michael's pain. It was as Dean had expected, though not nearly as satisfying. He did take some pleasure in it, and he certainly didn't feel any sympathy for Michael. The bastard made his own bed, and he made it necessary for Dean to have to let his brother go. It seemed fitting as far as he was concerned. But Michael's pain didn't relieve Dean's pain. It didn't give him Sam back.

After a few more minutes, Michael picked himself up off the ground. "It's over."

"What's the damage?" Dean wondered. He had told Bobby and Cas he didn't consider his problem anymore, but he still wondered what was left of humanity.

"The battle wasn't nearly as bad as it would've been had Lucifer been at full strength. There was of course loss of life, but it was minimal compared. Paradise will not happen, but it was never my desire in the first place," Michael said. Paradise had been what Raphael and many others wanted, but Michael only every fought because he felt he had no choice. It was what his father expected of him. "As I promised a while back, your mind will be intact when I leave you."

"What about Sam and Gabriel?" Dean asked. He wanted to be sure his brother would still be safe, that Michael wouldn't seek retribution for ruining the plan.

Michael sighed. "One brother has already died by my hand. I have absolutely no desire to hunt down another. But I cannot bring Sam back to you either." Well, he supposed he could if he searched long enough, but he saw no reason to. Gabriel had made his intention not to come back clear to Dean. He saw no reason to interfere.

"Just as long as you leave them alone," Dean said.

"You have my word. Goodbye, Dean," Michael said before vacating his vessel and flying home, taking his brother's body with him.

Dean finally felt the invisible weight that was holding him down disappear. He had control of his own body once again. He just stood there for a while looking around, trying to figure out where he went from here.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gabriel felt the death of his brother. He never thought he would, but apparently when an archangel died, every other archangel felt it. It was a combination of emptiness in pain. It was like someone just reached inside of him and tore a chunk of him out.

"What's wrong with you?" Sam suddenly asked from across the archangel. The two of them had been sitting in the living room watching TV, both on one of the couches, when a strange look reached Gabriel's face. Sam could only describe it as a mixture of shock and agony.

Gabriel straightened his features. He wouldn't let Sam see him lose it. "Nothing. Hey, it's getting late. How about we get you ready for bed?"

Sam thought about arguing that he didn't want to go to bed, but decided against it. He was a tiny bit tired and he really wouldn't mind getting away from the archangel. "Fine, but I'll go myself. I don't need you to help get ready for bed."

Gabriel nodded and watched the boy disappear up the stairs. He waited to hear the door close before burying his head in his hands and crying. His brother was gone, and despite how much of a dick he'd turned into, Lucifer was still the older brother that took care of Gabriel. "Damn it! You dickheads just couldn't stop!"

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Up in his room, Sam opened the drawer with all of pajamas in it. He grumbled as he sifted through the childish pajamas. Everything in there consisted of stuff with teddy bears, dinosaurs, superheros, or some other kid pictures on it. It never ceased to piss him off.

After looking through every pair of pajamas he had, Sam finally found a pair he could deal with. They were a blue short sleeve pair with baseballs all over the shorts and a big baseball on the the top.

Before bed, Sam decided to go back downstairs and get a glass of water. The first thing he noticed was that Gabriel wasn't in the living room anymore. Sam walked towards the kitchen and heard a crying sound. As the kitchen came into view, he saw that it was Gabriel that was crying. Well, it was more like little whimpers, but he was still upset.

Sam felt bad and wondered what was wrong for about two seconds. Then he remembered that he shouldn't care, not after Gabriel kidnapped him and forced him to go through his childhood all over again. In fact, this might be his chance to get the hell out of there. Gabriel wasn't watching his every move right now. He wasn't listening for every sound he made. Maybe since he was so upset, Gabriel's archangel senses wouldn't be as strong. He could get out of there.

Of course, Sam knew it wouldn't be easy even if he got away from Gabriel. He was in some kind of weird dimension. But there had to be a way out of it, right? And Sam was a Winchester. If there was a way out, he'd find it.

Sam decided he was going to go for it. He wasn't sure he'd get another chance like this. He had to take it before it was too late. He quickly, yet very quietly walked back out to the living room and towards the door. He turned back just for a second when he reached the door, to make sure there was no sign of Gabriel busting him. There wasn't, so he walked right out.


	9. Chapter 9

When Sam first left the house, he felt hopeful and victorious. He'd gotten away from Gabriel without alerting him and felt he had a good chance finding a way out of this case. Of course, that was at least an hour ago when Sam had felt a good sense of energy, fueled by his hope. Now he was getting extremely tired and his legs were starting to hurt. This stupid small body was taking its toll on him.

Sam made himself keep walking, despite the very deep desire to sit down and rest. Who knew how long it would take Gabriel to realize that he was missing, probably not long. As soon as he got over whatever was bothering him, he'd realize Sam was gone and come for him. Sam had to find a way out before that happened. If not, not only would the archangel keep a very close watch on him, he'd probably punish him as well.

Sam scowled at his last thought. Like the jackass had the right to punish him for anything. He was a grown man... sort of. And either way, Gabriel was not his father. He had no right telling him dictating rules at him.

Sam stopped abruptly as everything around him suddenly changed. There were no more houses, buildings, or even trees. All he could see wide open land. There was nothing else anywhere. Even when he turned around to look behind him, there was no sign of where he just came from. Gabriel must have hidden the part of the world that he'd created from anyone outside of it.

Starting to feel nervous and maybe even a little scared, Sam decided to go back. He didn't even make it five steps before some kind of strong invisible force knocked him through the air. He fell several feet away and hit his head, bringing unconsciousness upon him.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gabriel didn't know how long he'd spent drowning in his grief. A while, he was sure. It hurt so much to feel Lucifer's death. He didn't expect it to. He told himself that he no longer cared what happened between Michael and Lucifer. He'd made the choice to walk away from it all and let them do whatever they wanted. He knew what the result would be, but he convinced himself it wasn't his problem. Well, it wasn't his problem, but apparently he still did care. Even after Lucifer attempted to kill him, he cared about the idiot. He just couldn't forget all the memories of his brother from before all the fighting.

Gabriel tried to pull himself together. Falling apart wasn't helping anything. Lucifer was gone. Nothing could change that. And it really shouldn't hit him so hard. It was always going to happen. He was always going to lose a brother and it was always most likely to be Lucifer. He knew that, yet, he was still unprepared for the feeling. Part of that might be because he didn't know he'd actually be able to feel his brother dying.

A part of Gabriel felt an urge to go home and see Michael, because despite his eldest brother's confidence that following their father's will was noble, Gabriel knew Michael would be devastated after killing their brother. He would feel just as terrible as Gabriel did now, maybe even worse. But it was one urge, Gabriel was going to ignore. Michael wasn't his problem anymore. He still cared about his brother, but Michael had made his choices. Gabriel's only concern now was Sam and giving him a good life.

Speaking of Sam, Gabriel suddenly realized he hadn't heard a peep from him, and that sent alarm bells off. Sam was meant to be going to bed, so obviously Gabriel wouldn't hear him talking or moving around much, but he'd at least hear him breathing. Right now, he heard nothing, which meant the boy either wasn't in the house or wasn't breathing.

Gabriel immediately feared the worst possible conclusion and teleported into Sam's room, only to find the bed empty and no indication that Sam had been in it. Next he checked the bathroom, finding that empty too. He checked the entire house and found no sign of the boy.

"Damn it!" Gabriel cursed. It became quite clear what happened. Sam must have come downstairs and saw that he was upset. He must have used that to try an escape plot, and because Gabriel was stupid enough not to pay attention, it worked.

Gabriel set off to find Sam. He needed to find him quick, hopefully before he got beyond the wards. Gabriel had placed wards around their little area of this world just on the off chance that one of his brothers or anything else tried to get to them. They wouldn't let anything in. If Sam got past those wards, he wouldn't be getting back in without Gabriel.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Sam starting whimpering as he regained consciousness. His head heard really badly. All of him hurt actual, and he was really cold. He wanted to go back. He wanted to be in his in his bed under the covers. He was scared. He couldn't get up and there was no one around. What if Gabriel didn't find him? What if he died out there.

As if on cue, Sam soon heard Gabriel's voice. "Sam!"

"Help!" Sam yelled out.

Gabriel was by Sam's side in a second. "Hey, kiddo. How are you doing?"

"It hurts," Sam said.

Wasting no time, Gabriel placed his hand on Sam's head, quickly healing the concussion he had, as well as the other bruises he'd received. Gabriel could only guess that Sam had tried to go back to the house and the wards through him back. If only he'd told Sam that the words were even there. In his defense though, he never thought Sam would get this far. If he'd been paying attention like he should've been, Sam never would've even made it off the porch.

Sam instantly felt better, though he was still freezing. "I'm cold."

"I can see that," Gabriel said before standing and picking the kid up. He could feel Sam shiver in his arms.

Sam cuddled close to Gabriel, trying to get as much warmth as possible.

Gabriel teleported them home, right into Sam's room. He immediately used his powers to adjust the heat. He always kept the house at a comfortable temperature so it was never too hot or too cold, but even that wasn't going to be enough for tonight. Sam had obviously been out there for a while. He needed more heat.

After placing Sam down on the bed, Gabriel went to Sam's dresser to get him a new pair of pajamas. His were dirty and not nearly warm enough. Gabriel pulled out a long sleeve pair of green pajamas with black dinosaurs all over them. He used a bit of his grace to warm them up. They would feel like they just came out of the dryer, only instead of the feeling only sticking around for a minute or two, it would last at least an hour. "Alright, you're gonna change into these."

Sam nodded and let him help him get changed.

Gabriel was a bit surprised by the lack of fight Sam put up, but he chalked it up to him being tired and a bit overwhelmed. Besides, Gabriel certainly wasn't going to complain about it. He wanted to get Sam into bed as quick as possible so he could try to calm down from all the excitement. He was starting to get over how worried he'd been, but anger was starting to set in. A part of him wanted to throttle the kid for this. He'd been very clear when he told Sam he wasn't to leave the house without him. Sam was going to be punished for this in the morning. In fact, the only things that stopped him from doing it now were that he was refused to punish him when he was this anger and that Sam wasn't likely to learn from it right now. He was too tired.

"Can I have some water?" Sam suddenly asked.

Gabriel snapped his fingers and plastic cup filled with water appeared in his hands. He immediately handed it to Sam.

Sam drank the whole glass and handed it back to Gabriel. "Thank you."

"Okay, it's time for bed," Gabriel said before pulling the covers back so Sam could get under them.

Sam immediately laid down and felt the blankets draped on top of him. He pulled them tight. He was still pretty cold.

"I'll see you in the morning, and will be having a talk about what you did tonight," Gabriel warned.

Sam nodded. He knew he was in big trouble for leaving when he wasn't supposed to.

Gabriel left the room, shutting the light off on his way out.

Sam was about to close his eyes when he noticed the stuffed bear on the floor. He immediately got up and grabbed it before bringing it back to bed and cuddling it close. Within minutes, he was asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Gabriel went in to wake Sam up at around ten. Normally, he got him up earlier, but he knew the kid would be more tired since he didn't actually get into bed until late. And even though Gabriel knew that fact was Sam's own fault, he decided to let him sleep the extra couple of hours.

Gabriel approached Sam and gently shook the boy. "Sam, it's time to get up."

Sam started to groan and kicked the blankets off he turned his back to Gabriel, showing no sign of getting up. As he moved positions, the toy bear he'd been snuggled with fell to the floor.

Gabriel frowned as he watched the toy fall. Sam had slept with the stuffed bear he got him. Had he regressed. He had to have because adult Sam never would've slept with a stuffed animal. And as Gabriel thought about it, he remembered how compliant Sam had been the night before. He hadn't fought him once after Gabriel got him home. Gabriel had assumed it was just that Sam was tired and maybe a bit overwhelmed by what had just happened, but obviously it was that he'd regressed.

Gabriel shook Sam again. "Come on, kiddo. We have to get up now."

Sam groaned once more, but he was more awake now. "I don't wanna. I'm sleepy."

"I know, buddy, but you need to get up. It's time for breakfast," Gabriel said as he gently turned Sam onto his back.

"I can eat later," Sam said as he began to rub his eyes."

"No, we'll eat now," Gabriel said with a chuckle before picking the boy up. "I'll tell you what. We'll have a movie day. We can lay down on the couch and rest while we watch movies."

Sam laid his head head on Gabriel's shoulder and rubbed his eyes again. "Okay. Can I take my bear to breakfast?"

"Of course you can," Gabriel said before snapping his fingers. The toy appeared in Sam's arms, causing the boy to giggle and hug it close. If there was any doubt that Sam had regressed, it disappeared in that moment.

Gabriel carried Sam downstairs and into the kitchen. He set him down right in front of his chair, where a small plate with pancakes and some juice was waiting for him.

"Pancakes!" Sam exclaimed before sitting down in his chair.

"Hey, how about we put your bear in the chair next to you. That way you can still see him, but he'll stay clean," Gabriel suggested.

"Okay. He can watch us eat," Sam said before reaching over and putting the toy in the chair next to him. Then he immediately started digging into his breakfast.

Gabriel went and sat at in his own chair and started eating. He looked up and smiled at Sam every so often. He couldn't deny being happy Sam was officially a child in every sense of the word. It wasn't that he didn't want adult Sam around. He was actually quite fond of the man, even if the last week with him had been rather frustration. He just knew that going through childhood again was what was best for Sam. He could live his life without worrying about the supernatural creatures that reek havoc on humanity or a father who would force him to train and hunt. Plus, it had been a long time since Gabriel had cared for a child. He had to admit he was looking forward to it again.

"Am I gonna be in trouble now?" Sam suddenly asked. He'd forgotten for a bit that he did something bad, but now he remembered. He was probably gonna get a spanking.

Gabriel sighed. Before he woke Sam up, the answer would've been most definitely yes. He had every intention of punishing Sam for leaving the house, just as he promised him he would, but that went out the window the moment he realized Sam had regressed. In every way that mattered, the person that left the house was an entirely different person than the boy Gabriel had brought back. This boy had not made the decision to leave. He may have physically done it, but in the end, it wasn't his choice. He didn't deserve to be punished for something he hadn't done. "No. I'm not gonna punish you, but we are going to talk about what happened last night and some other things."

"But I won't get a spanking?" Sam asked.

"No, not this time," Gabriel assured him. Gabriel was going to talk to him to make sure that Sam understood that he wasn't allowed to leave the house alone and why, but there would be no punishment this time.

Sam sighed in relief and went back to his pancakes.

Ten minutes later, they were both finished eating. Gabriel looked over at Sam, who was practically covered in syrup. "It looks like someone needs a bath.

Sam just giggled in response.

Gabriel got up and approached the boy. "Come on, let's get you cleaned."

Sam nodded and got up and followed him.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

After Sam's bath, Gabriel dressed him in a pair of tan pants and and a white and blue striped t-shirt. Then he led him downstairs to the living room. "Okay, we're gonna have a little talk and then I'll put our first movie on, okay?"

Sam nodded and jumped up on the couch.

Gabriel sat down next to him. "So do you remember leaving the house last night?"

Sam nodded and ducked his head. "I'm sorry.

"It's alright. I told you you're not going to be punished, but can you remember why you left?" Gabriel asked. He wanted to determine just how much the boy understood from before he left. It was clear that he had some memories, but Gabriel wanted to see how far they stretched.

"Because I was mad at you for making me little and I didn't want to live here," Sam said. It was kind of confusing to him. He remembered those things, but now he didn't really understand why they upset him. His head was different now. He knew that, and it was hard to understand a lot of things that happened when he was big.

"Okay, do you know why I made you little?" Gabriel asked. Again, he wanted to determine exactly how much Sam understood. He didn't expect a lot. The apocalypse and angels trying to possess you were concepts that were a little above the mind of a five-year-old. The most he'd probably understand was that something supernatural had been after him and his brother. The kid did seem to remember about the supernatural. He hadn't batted an eyelash when Gabriel used his grace last night or this morning and he remembered that he'd been turned into a child. But even all that was pretty simply compared to an apocalypse.

Sam frowned as he tried to remember. He remembered that something bad was happening, but he couldn't really understand what it was, and that was bothering him. Why was it so hard to remember and get what happened?

Gabriel could see that Sam was getting frustrated and upset. "Hey, it's okay. It's kind of hard to understand it all, huh?"

Sam nodded. "Why?"

Gabriel understood what Sam was asking. Sam understood enough to know things were different than they were before and he didn't understand why. Gabriel almost wished he'd told Sam he'd regress when he still had his adult mind. Maybe he would understand it more now. Gabriel had just felt it would scare Sam needlessly. "Well, when I made you little, it started making you a little different, but that's okay. It doesn't mean it's bad. You're just fine, I promise."

"Okay," Sam said.

"There's one more thing we have to talk about. I already told you you weren't in trouble, but you need to understand that you cannot leave this house without me again. Bad things could happen," Gabriel told him.

"Get hurt again?" Sam asked.

"That's right. So when you go outside, it'll only be when you're with me. If you go out by yourself, you will be punished," Gabriel warned in a slightly firm tone.

"Okay. I won't do it again," Sam promised.

"Good boy. Now how about we pick out our first movie?" Gabriel asked before turning the TV on.


	11. Chapter 11

Gabriel was sitting in the living room contently, watching old Doctor Sexy reruns. It was almost midnight, so Sam had been sound asleep for hours. Things had been going well in the last few days with Sam. He loved being around that little boy. Many would find it hard to believe, but he took great joy in being around children. That was what he missed the most of Heaven, back when his father was still making new angels. It hadn't been his primary responsibility to take care of the fledglings, but he still spent a lot of time around them, playing with them and teaching them. He loved it. Sure, he found some happiness when he became a trickster. He found it entertaining to play deadly pranks on those who deserved it, but it was a far cry from giving him the same joy.

Gabriel was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of some soft whimpers from upstairs. He immediately got up and rushed upstairs. From there he went to Sam's room. When he got there, he found the boy thrashing and crying from some kind of nightmare.

Gabriel ran to the boy and shook him. "Hey, buddy, wake up. It's okay."

Sam's eyes opened after a minute, but he was still crying. In fact, his cries only got louder.

Gabriel picked him up and held him close. "Shh, Sammy. You're okay."

"I want Dean!" Sam cried as he held onto the man tightly.

Gabriel continued to make shushing sounds as he rubbed the boy's back. He did so until the child's cries began to stop about five minutes later. Then there just a few whimpers. "You okay now, kiddo?"

"I want Dean," Sam repeated. Dean made him feel better when he had a bad dream. He made the monsters go away. He always felt safe when his big brother was there.

Gabriel sighed. He knew this was going to come eventually. Sam hadn't asked for Dean until tonight, but Gabriel always knew it was going to happen. Dean was too important to Sam, especially as a child. Unfortunately, Dean was the one thing Gabriel couldn't give Sam. Gabriel doubted Dean was even alive, and if he was, there probably wasn't anything left of his mind after being possessed by Michael.

Gabriel sat down on the bed and sat Sam on his lap. He snapped his fingers and a small cup of water appeared in his hand. "Can you drink this for me, little one?"

Sam took the cup and took a sip.

"Good boy. You had a pretty bad dream, huh? Do you wanna tell me about it?" Gabriel asked gently.

"There were monsters and they wanted to hurt me. I want Dean. He makes them go away," Sam said.

"That sounds pretty scary, but there are no monsters here," Gabriel assured him.

"Yes! Monsters are real!" Sam said in a tone that just dared the man to tell him he was wrong.

Gabriel chuckled a little at the confident way the boy spoke. "You're right, they are real, but they're not here. No monster is ever going to hurt you again."

"But they could without Dean. He's the one who keeps them away. Why isn't he coming? Is it because he's mad at me?" Sam asked.

"No. Why would your brother be mad at you?" Gabriel asked.

"Because I was mean to him," Sam said. He didn't understand some things from when he was big, but he remembered saying mean things to him right before Gabe took him away.

Gabriel sighed sadly. He knew that the words Sam said to Dean when they left was going to end up hurting the boy later. That's why he had tried to urge Sam not to let things be left like that. But what was done was done. "Sometimes we say things we don't mean when we're mad. Dean knew you were very upset. I know he wouldn't hold it against you."

"But I was mean and now he's gone," Sam said.

"I know. Look, I know you don't remember everything that we talked about after I made you like you are now, but we told you then that you wouldn't be able to see your brother anymore. That was before you said what you did to him. It's not because he's mad at you," Gabriel told him.

"Why then? Why can't I see him?" Sam asked with a quivered lip.

Gabriel took a minute to try to find a way to explain it. It was very difficult to figure out how to explain to a child that he would never see his brother again. "Remember how you said a few minutes ago that Dean protects you from the monsters?"

Sam nodded

"Well, remember, there was a really bad monster who wanted to hurt you right before I changed you," Gabriel said. He hated calling his own brother a monster, but in the end, that was what he was. He couldn't consider anyone that would come after Sam anything else. "Dean wanted to protect you from that monster, but he couldn't do it the way he usually did. He needed help. He needed me take you away so you'd be safe from him."

"And Dean's gonna fight him?" Sam asked.

"Sort of. He made sure that bad man can never hurt you again," Gabriel said.

"If he made him go away, why can't Dean come back?" Sam asked.

"He... He had to go somewhere else after. Sam, your brother's in Heaven," Gabriel said. Even if that wasn't true, and Gabriel had every reason in the world to believe it was, it was best for Sam to think that. This way he wouldn't keep asking for him or assume he'd be back.

Sam started to cry. "No! You can't leave Heaven!"

Gabriel hugged him and rubbed his back. "I know, sweetheart. You know, Heaven's a really nice place though. He'll be surrounded by the people he loves and all his best memories. He'll have so many memories of the two of you. You have that too. You'll never forget your brother. And one day, when you go to Heaven, you'll see him again."

"But that won't be for a long time," Sam cried.

"No, it won't, but that's okay. You're gonna have a really happy life. You won't ever stop missing Dean, but you can think of your memories every time you miss him," Gabriel said.

"But Dean takes care of me," Sam said. If he didn't have Dean, he was all alone now. Dean was the only one that was always there. Dean was there even when his daddy wasn't. What was he supposed to do without him?

"I know he does, and I know that it's not the same, but I'm gonna take care of you now. I promise, I will always be here. You never have to worry about someone being around to take care of you," Gabriel assured him.

"You promise you won't ever leave?" Sam asked. That was a little better he guessed, but it wasn't the same as having his brother.

"Yes, I promise."

"I still want Dean," Sam said as he cuddled against the man's shoulder and cried some more.

Gabriel just held him as he cried. It was the only thing he could do for him right now.


	12. Chapter 12

Gabriel was standing in the kitchen cooking dinner for himself and Sam. He was making chicken wings and macaroni and cheese. Sam was playing with a few of his toys in the living room.

It had been maybe a week since Gabriel had to tell Sam that his brother was dead. Sam was coping about as well as could be expected, but he'd become a bit defiant. More often than not over the last few days, when Gabriel asked him to do something or to stop doing something, the boy ignored him. Gabriel had to repeat the request two or three times, as well as Sam a firm warning before the kid did as he asked. Part of the problem was probably that Sam was testing him, but Gabriel knew most of it was Dean's loss. The little boy just didn't know how to cope with it.

With dinner about five minutes from being finished, Gabriel stepped away from the stove and went into the living room where Sam was playing on the floor with some toys scattered around him. "Sammy, dinner's almost ready. It's time to put your toys away."

The five-year-old kept playing as if his caretaker never spoke.

Gabriel sighed. He understood that Sam was in pain and that lashing out and misbehaving was the only way he could express that pain, but this couldn't continue. Sam needed to know that he had to follow the rules. "Sam, I said it's time to pick up your toys."

Sam turned this time and pouted. "No, I don't want to! I wanna play!"

"You know the rules, kiddo. It's dinner time and then we're going to settle down," Gabriel said. He had a firm routine going on. After dinner, they did something quiet, like lay on the couch and watch TV. It was a good way to transition into bedtime.

"No!" Sam yelled before throwing one of his toy cars across the room until it hit the wall. Even he realized afterwards that he'd gone too far. It was too late though, as he soon felt himself being pulled to his feet and tugged out of the room by the hand. "No, I'm sorry, Gabe."

Gabriel didn't answer him. He simply led him into the kitchen and over the far corner and spun him around to face said corner. "You stand here until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?

Sam let out a whine in response, but he nodded his head.

Gabriel went back to making dinner and tried to calm down. He wasn't really that angry, but he was a little frustrated. It wasn't this one incident alone. The kid had been testing his patience all week.

Once dinner was ready, Gabriel waved a hand over the meal to make sure it stayed hot. Then he turned towards Sam. "Come here, Sam."

Sam turned around to face Gabriel. His eyes were wet and puffy from crying and his lip was quivering.

Taking in the sight of the little boy, Gabriel wanted to just scoop him up and tell him everything was okay, but he knew he couldn't yet. He had to be the firm parent and let Sam know that the way he'd been acting wasn't okay. So he simply held his hand out to the boy.

Sam slowly walked over and took the offered hand, letting himself be pulled him to the table.

Gabriel walked over to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. He sat down and positioned the somber child in front of him. "Can you look at me please, kiddo?"

Sam lifted his head and rubbed the tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"You are? Can you tell me what for?" Gabriel asked. He knew what for, but he wanted Sam to say it. He always wanted to make sure Sam knew what he'd done wrong.

"For not listening and for throwing my toy," Sam answered.

"Uh huh. You know that's not okay, right? We don't throw things in this house," Gabriel said firmly.

Sam nodded his head. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are, buddy, and you are always going to be forgiven, but can you tell me why you did it?" Gabriel asked.

"I was mad. I didn't want to stop playing," Sam said.

"Right, but I don't think that's the only reason. You've had a hard time listening to me all week. Do you know why?"

Sam simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

Gabriel picked Sam up and placed him on his lap. "You miss your big brother, don't you?"

Sam's lower lip began to quiver once more and he leaned against Gabriel's shoulder.

Gabriel held the boy against him comfortingly. "You know, my big brother died too."

"Do you miss him?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Gabriel said honestly. He did miss Lucifer. Well, he missed who you Lucifer used to be. He missed the older brother that raised him, not the monster that tried to kill him. "I miss him a lot, and sometimes I get angry that he's gone, just like you're angry that Dean's gone. Sometimes I wanna throw something too. But it's not a good thing to do."

"I know. I just want Dean to come back," Sam said sadly.

"I know you do, pal. I'm sorry he can't come back, but things will be okay. You won't stop missing him, but things will be okay," Gabriel promised.

"I'm sorry for being mean," Sam said.

"No, Sammy, you weren't mean. You were just missing your brother and didn't now how to handle it. It's gonna be okay. You and I are going to figure things out," he said.

"Gabe?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, kiddo."

"Are you my daddy now?" Sam asked.

"Well, I'll be taking care of you like a daddy would. I love you like any parent would. But you don't have to call me 'Daddy' if you don't want to. I know you already had a daddy. You can keep calling me 'Gabe' if that's what you want," Gabriel told him. He would love for Sam to call him 'Daddy', but it wasn't necessary. He would be whatever Sam wanted him to be.

"I'm not sure," Sam said. He wouldn't mind calling Gabe 'Daddy'. He liked him and thought he did things that daddies usually did, but his last daddy could be really mean sometimes. He used to yell at Sam all the time. What if Sam started calling Gabe 'Daddy' and he did the same?

"That's okay. You can think about it," Gabriel said.

"Okay. I'm hungry," Sam said.

"Well, it's a good thing dinner's ready, huh?" Gabriel asked with a chuckle before gently sliding the boy off his lap and to his feet. "Can you go put your toys away now while I get dinner on the table?"

"Okay," Sam said before running off to the living room.


	13. Chapter 13

Sam walked downstairs with his teddy bear clutched to his chest. He was supposed to be sleeping, but he had a bad dream and he wanted Gabe. Well, he did, but he didn't. His dream was about Gabe.

Sam stopped at the bottom of the stairs and peered over to the couch where Gabe was reading a book. He wanted to run to him, but he was scared because of his dream. He thought about running back upstairs.

Before Sam could do anything, Gabriel looked over at him. "Hey, buddy. What are you doing up? Are you having trouble sleeping?"

Sam nodded as he hugged his teddy bear, Imp, tighter. He'd named his bear after his big brother's car, the Impala.

"Come here," Gabriel said as he scooted over and opened his arms up.

That was all the prompting Sam needed. He ran over to the man and climbed on the couch with him.

Gabriel laid Sam next to him and ran a hand through his hair. He could tell the boy was upset. He was trembling just a bit and he caught a few whimpers from it. "It's okay, kiddo. You're safe. Did you have a bad dream?"

Sam nodded.

"Was it the monsters again?" Gabriel asked.

Sam shook his head, but didn't say anything.

Gabriel could tell that Sam wasn't ready to talk about what was bothering him, so he just held him and tried to comfort him. After a moment or two, he started humming a lullaby that he sang whenever Sam woke from nightmares.

Sam felt his eyes start to droop and immediately popped them up. "No! I don't wanna sleep!"

"Shh. It's okay, Sammy. No one's gonna hut you. You don't have to be afraid to sleep," Gabriel promised.

"I don't want to!" Sam cried again.

"Okay, you know what? It's pretty late, but what do you say we break the rules just this once and have a little snack? Does that sound good?" Gabriel asked. Normally he wouldn't all that, but the kid was seriously upset, and he needed to get him calm enough to tell him what was wrong, because he had a feeling this was not just some normal nightmare about monsters or even the ones he still had occasionally about his brother. Something was seriously bothering this little boy.

Sam nodded and climbed off the couch.

Gabriel got up and took Sam's hand before leading him towards the kitchen. "We're just going to have some fruit and a glass of milk, and just this once. Do you understand?"

"Uh huh," Sam replied.

"Okay, you go sit down at the table," he said.

Sam immediately went over and sat down in his usual chair.

Gabriel came over a couple of minutes later with two small bowls of grapes and apple slices and a glass of milk for Sam.

Sam immediately grabbed an apple slice and started munching on it.

"How are you doing, little one? Are you feeling a little better?" Gabriel asked after a couple of minutes.

Sam shook his head and hugged his teddy bear. He was still really scared about his dream and he didn't want to go back to sleep.

Gabriel sighed. "You know, nothing's going to hurt you, Sam. We've talked about that. I promised to never let anything hurt you."

"What if it's you?" Sam asked a bit hesitantly.

"I…I hurt you in your dream?" Gabriel asked in a worried tone. He wondered if Sam had dreamed about one of his encounters with him as an adult. If he had, he didn't know how he would explain that. How could he make any of that okay for a five-year-old?

Sam nodded. "You said mean things."

"What kind of mean things?" Gabriel asked.

"You said I was bad, and stupid and worthless and useless," Sam said. There were tears streaming down the boy's cheeks.

Gabriel immediately got up and picked Sam up into his arms. He rubbed circles onto his back, all the while seething inside. Those words that Sam had dreamed him saying were very specific. Someone had said those things to him and Gabriel was pretty sure he knew who.

Sam calmed down after a couple of minutes and started sniffling and rubbing his eyes.

Once he was sure Sam was well enough to speak to him, Gabriel put him down on the floor and knelt down to his level. "Who called you those mean things, Sam. I mean in real life, not your dream."

"My other daddy," Sam said quietly.

With that one statement, Gabriel understood the problem. He'd had a feeling that John was the one that had said those things, but when Sam said it was his 'other daddy', Gabriel understood why Sam would associate him with it in his dreams. It wasn't too long ago that the kid asked him if he was his new daddy. Sam seemed to associate the word 'daddy' with someone who was mean to him. He was afraid Gabriel would be no different. "John used to say those mean things to you, huh?"

Sam nodded. "Not all the time, but sometimes he was really mean. He liked Dean better."

Gabriel was disgusted. No child should grow up being called those kinds of names by their own father, and they certainly shouldn't grow up believing they were loved less than their sibling. It was a miracle Sam didn't grow up to resent his brother. It was very clear to Gabriel why adult Sam had had so little self-esteem. How could he not after having grown up under John Winchester. "Sam, I need to ask you a really important question. Has your daddy ever hit you? I don't mean a spanking, like I've given you. Has he ever smacked you anywhere else or maybe hit you with an object?"

"One time. He hit me here," Sam said as he touched his cheek. "Dean saw and he got really mad. He yelled at Daddy and said bad words."

"Do you remember how big you were?" Gabriel asked. He didn't think it would make a whole lot of difference. Mainly, it would just make it that much worse if Sam were still a child.

"Bigger than now, but still little," Sam said.

"Okay, buddy, I need you to listen to me. It was really mean of your daddy to say those things to you and to hit you the way he did. I would never hurt you like that. I've never said anything like that to you, even when you're in trouble, right?" Gabriel asked.

"No. You make me stand in the corner or give me a spanking," Sam said. He didn't like spankings, but it wasn't like that one time his daddy hit him. That was a hard hit and it hurt for a long time. "But if you're my new daddy, you might get mean like my other daddy."

"Not all daddies are mean, Sammy," Gabriel said.

"I know, but maybe they are to me. Maybe I'm bad," Sam said before ducking his head.

Gabriel gently lifted the boy's chin until their eyes connected once more. "No, sweetheart, you are not bad. You are one of the best little boys in the whole world. I love you very much and so did your big brother. Don't ever think you're bad. You may get in trouble once and a while, but all kids do. There's nothing wrong with you."

"Then why was Daddy mean to me and not Dean? Why did he think Dean was better?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. He was very messed up. He got really sad when your mommy died and it changed him. He couldn't be a good dad anymore. Sammy, you need to understand that that isn't your fault. I also need you to know that no one's ever going to treat you like that again," Gabriel said firmly.

"Promise?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I promise."

Sam immediately threw his arms around the man and hugged him tightly.

Gabriel hugged him for a couple of minutes and then pulled away and stood up. "You think you can go back to sleep now?"

Sam nodded.

"Come on," Gabriel said before leading him through the living room and up the stairs to his bedroom. "Jump into bed, kiddo."

Sam immediately climbed onto the bed and got under the covers.

Gabriel immediately tucked the boy in and kissed him on the forehead.

"You can sing now, Daddy," Sam said.

That one word made Gabriel's heart skip a beat. He didn't realize just how much he wanted to hear it directed towards him. This boy was his now. No one would hurt him and no one would take him away.

Gabriel sat down on the edge of the bed and started playing with the child's hair, all the while humming his lullaby until Sam was fast asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Gabriel sat on a bunch on the park watching Sam play with some other 'kids'. The other children were creations of Gabriel's. He didn't want Sam growing up lonely. He wanted him to have other kids to play with, even if they weren't technically real.

It had been over five years since Gabriel had deaged Sam. He had no regrets on the matter. He loved that child more than he ever thought it was possible to love someone. Gabriel had done a lot of things since he was created, but he could honestly say that none of them were more important than taking care of Sam.

Gabriel believed things were better for Sam as well. He was a happy child. He didn't need to worry about monsters coming after him, or about having to be trained to fight said monsters instead of being a normal little boy. He didn't worry about his father mistreating him. He was finally just a carefree child. That was what Gabriel had wanted for him. Protecting Sam against Lucifer had been the reason Gabriel had deaged him, but it had been obvious how little Sam thought of himself and how much weight he put on his own shoulders. Gabriel had been determined to change all of that, and he had.

Gabriel looked at his watch and then stood up. It was around four-thirty. It was time for them to be heading home. "Come on, Sammy! It's time to go home."

Sam turned and looked at his father with a kicked puppy look on his face. "No! I don't wanna go. I wanna play!"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes a little bit in a stern parent way. "Sam, it's late. We need to go home. Come now, please."

Sam whined a little, but said goodbye to his friends and ran to his father.

"Good boy," Gabriel said before taking the boy's hand and leading him out of the park. "Did you have fun."

"Uh huh. I love playing with Danny and Ryan. Can we come back and play tomorrow?"

"We'll see. Right now, we need to get home and have dinner," Gabriel said.

"Yay! I'm hungry," Sam said.

Gabriel chucked. "Yet you didn't want to leave."

"Can we have pizza, Daddy?" Sam asked.

"No, buddy. We had pizza a couple of days ago. Daddy's gonna make fish sticks, macaroni and cheese, and veggies for dinner," Gabriel said.

"Okay," Sam said with a little big of disappointment in his voice.

"Hey, I know you like fish sticks," Gabriel said.

"Uh huh," Sam said.

They soon got back to the house and went inside. "You wanna watch cartoons while I make dinner?" Gabriel asked.

"No, I wanna color," Sam said.

"Okay. Go get your coloring book and crayons and sit at the table," Gabriel told him.

Sam immediately took his shoes off and ran up the stairs.

Gabriel, meanwhile, went into the kitchen to start dinner. He took out a box of macaroni and cheese and started boiling the water. Then he went into the freezer to take out the frozen package of fish sticks and frozen vegetables. He preferred to make things from scratch, but he found that sometimes it was easier to cheat with frozen foods with a child. He'd even gone so far as to snap stuff up a few times when Sam was especially impatient to eat.

Sam came down carrying a superhero coloring book and a box of crayons. He put them on table and turned to his father. "Daddy, can I have some juice?

"You want apple or orange?" Gabriel asked before taking a plastic cup from one of the cabinets.

"Apple please," Sam said.

Gabriel took out the bottle of apple juice and filled the cup halfway for bringing it to the table and setting it next to Sam on the table.

Sam took the cup and immediately took a sip before turning to his coloring.

Gabriel went back to making dinner. He was about halfway through when he heard Sam start to cough. "Are you alright, buddy?"

Sam coughed a few more times before answering. "Yes."

"Take small sips, okay?" Gabriel asked. He could only assume that it was drinking his juice too fast that made Sam cough. There was no other reason for him to have a cough.

"I did. When's the food gonna be ready? I'm hungry," Sam said.

"Soon, kiddo. Color two pages and it should be done by then," Gabriel told him.

"Okay," Sam said.

About fifteen minutes later, Gabriel came over with two plates of food. "Okay, let's put the coloring aside. Do you want more juice?"

"Yes, please," Sam said before pushing his coloring book over and digging into his food.

Gabriel took the boy's cup and went to fill it up. He came back a second later and handed it to Sam before sitting down.

Sam ate his fish sticks, macaroni and cheese, and about half of his veggies before pushing his plate aside. "Daddy, I'm done. Can I have some ice cream now."

Gabriel looked over at Sam's plate. "You still have some vegetables left."

"But I'm full from them," Sam whined a bit.

"You know the rules. If you're too full to finish your diner, you're too full for dessert," Gabriel said sternly.

"Please, Daddy. I'm hot," Sam complained.

"Oh, really," Gabriel said with a disbelieving chuckle before going to feel the boy's head, just to prove a point. His face got serous as he felt Sam's slightly elevated temperature. Most parents wouldn't see that as a cause for concern, but Gabriel did. Sam shouldn't get sick. He was not around germs. Hell, he was not around people. He shouldn't even get sick from the cold because Gabriel kept the temperature comfortable all year round.

"Daddy," Sam suddenly interrupted.

Gabriel used a bit of his grace to bring Sam's temperature down. His forehand quickly felt as it should, but Gabriel was still unsettled.

"Daddy, can I please have ice cream?" Sam asked again.

Gabriel removed his hand from Sam's forehead and then took ahold of his spoon. He separated about half of Sam's vegetables and pointed to one half. "I will make you a deal. If you eat this much, you can have ice cream."

"Okay," Sam said before going back to his food.

Gabriel looked at his son, still highly concerned about what had just happened.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"Daddy!" Sam cried from his bed in the middle of the night. He felt really bad. He was cold, and tummy hurt a lot. He needed his daddy to make it better. "Daddy!"

Gabriel entered Sam's room and turned on the light. "Oh, Dad."

"Daddy, I don't feel good. My tummy hurts, and it's really cold," Sam said as he tried to put the blankets even further around himself.

Gabriel rushed over to his son. He was concerned before, but now he was terrified. Sam said he was cold, but Gabriel could see the sweat pouring from his face. He didn't even need to feel the kid's temperature to know he had a fever, but he did, and Sam was burning up.

Gabriel's first instinct was to heal Sam, but he decided against it. He'd healed the boy just a few hours ago and he was burning up now. What if healing him had just made it worse? Nothing like this had ever happened when he healed before, but he decided it wasn't the best idea to try, especially since he didn't know what was making Sam sick. This shouldn't be happening.

"Daddy, make it stop, please!" Sam cried.

Gabriel picked Sam up, comforter and all. "It's going to be okay, little one. We're going to go on a little trip."

"I need Imp," Sam said.

Gabriel reached for Sam's teddy bear and handed it to the boy before flying away with him.


	15. Chapter 15

abriel banged loudly on the door he arrived in front of. Sam was cradled in his arms, barely conscious and whimpering. "It's okay, buddy. I'm gonna get you some help," he said to his boy before banging on the door again.

"Go away!" a very cold and threatening female voice spoke from inside.

If Gabriel were anyone else, and he knew what was good for him, he would've heeded the warning. He knew exactly what that woman could do if you pissed her off. Hell, he'd experienced it. However, not only was he an archangel, he was a father. His son needed help and he wasn't leaving without it. "Open the damn door!"

Sam whimpered again.

Gabriel held him closer. "Shh. I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's okay."

The door suddenly flung open and the dark-skinned woman behind it looked shocked.

"Kali, help me," Gabriel pleaded. He hated the way his voice sounded right now, but he knew that Sam was dying, and he couldn't do anything about it. He needed help.

"I thought you were dead," Kali said, still shocked.

"Help me," Gabriel said again.

Kali at that moment noticed the child in her former lover's arms. He appeared human, and felt mostly human, but there was something not right about him. She couldn't place it, but something just felt off. "What's wrong with him?"

"Do you think I'd be here if I knew that?" Gabriel asked impatiently. Okay, so he did know a little. He knew that what was happening to Sam wasn't normal. He also knew he couldn't heal the boy, which led him to believe this had to do with the Pagan magic inside of him. That was why Gabriel had gone to Kali instead of Michael.

"That's not what I meant. Something isn't normal about him," Kali said before putting a hand on the boy's forehead. She immediately felt the hint of pagan magic fighting inside him. She was pretty sure she knew what was happening. He had Pagan magic in him and she could tell just by touching him that this 'child' was much older than he appeared. "You idiot! Follow me!"

Gabriel followed his ex-girlfriend inside and though a very spacious living room. From there they walked through a hallway and into Kali's bedroom, where a low-level demigod was waiting almost naked on her bed.

"You, get out," Kali ordered.

"What the hell is this?" the demigod asked irritated.

"I said get out now!" Kali snarled dangerously.

The demigod huffed, but he apparently had some self-preservation because he used his power to disappear right in front of them.

Gabriel snapped his fingers to make sure the sheets were clean and then carefully laid his boy on the bed.

Sam groaned. "Daddy?"

"It's okay, Sammy. Daddy's right here," Gabriel soothed.

"You of all people with the desperate need to play 'daddy' to some brat," Kali snarled. Of everyone she knew, Loki, or Gabriel, was the last person she'd ever think that would use the deaging ritual. He wasn't the parent type. He was basically a child himself.

"Kali," Gabriel warned. He was far from in the mood, and he wasn't going to allow her to go at him in front of Sam.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" Kali asked loudly.

Sam began to cry at the loud voices.

Gabriel ran a hand through his son's hair and made shushing sounds. "Watch your tone in front of my kid."

"Fine. Come with me," Kali said before walking towards the door.

"Daddy will be right back, Sammy," Gabriel told the boy before following Kali. He walked out of the room, but left the door open so he could still keep an eye on Sam.

"You are a moron! If you suddenly felt the need to be parental, you should've had your own, or at least chosen better! You had no business using that spell on a human!" Kali fumed.

"It wasn't about that. Using it was the only way to save him. It doesn't matter anyway. Just tell me what's happening to him," Gabriel demanded.

Kali sighed. "That spell wasn't meant to be used on humans. Their systems can't handle Pagan magic inside them for long."

"No, I did the research. It was used on a human before," Gabriel argued.

"You didn't do much research if that's all you know. You didn't find out what happened to that human before deciding to try it out on another one, did you?" Kali asked scathingly.

"I didn't have a lot of time," Gabriel admitted. He was starting to think that maybe he should've looked more into it before he used it on Sam, but he had to act fast. It wouldn't be that long before Sam made the choice to let Lucifer in.

"The last human the ritual was used on was dead within three years," Kali said.

"No!" Gabriel exclaimed before running back in the bedroom to Sam's side. He knelt down and placed his hand on his son's head.

Kali walked back in as well. "The magic you used to change him is fighting his human body. It's killing him."

"You have to do something. There must be something that will help him," Gabriel said, close to tears. He couldn't lose his son. There was nothing in this world he loved more than Sam. Absolutely nothing. Not even his father or brothers paled in comparison to this little boy. He wouldn't' survive losing him.

"I assume you've already tried yourself," Kali said.

Gabriel nodded. "It worked for a second, but then he just got worse. Kali, please, there has to be something you can do."

"Even if there was, why should I help you? Your stupidity is why this happening. I ought to let you learn from your idiocy," Kali said.

Gabriel stood up and his eyes darkened. "So you can do something. You will help him. You owe me. You owe him!"

"I owe no one!" Kali immediately responded with a quiet snarl.

"I saved your life! I stopped Lucifer from killing you. My son pulled you out of that hotel because I asked him to! You owe us!" Gabriel told her in the same tone.

Kali looked at the boy. "This is a Winchester?"

"Yeah. You owe the both of us. But you know what? That's not why you'll do it. You'll do it because if you don't, I'll kill you. You thought you had the upper hand on me at that hotel. You didn't. I could've easily stopped you from plunging that fake blade into my chest. I could've killed you with nothing more than a finger snap. I didn't because I cared about you. But if you let my son die, I will not hesitate to kill you here and now," Gabriel said as threatening as he could. He was an archangel, so he knew it was very affective.

Kali sighed. She never really had any intention of letting the child die. She might be cruel, but not to that extent. She'd just decided to let Gabriel suffer a little for his stupidity. Obviously, it backfired. "I don't know if I can save him. No human has ever survived that ritual. Of course, only one other God has been stupid enough to do what you did."

"But you have an idea," Gabriel said. That was enough for Gabriel. As long as he had hope, he and Sam could get through this.

Kali looked at the boy. "The Pagan magic is killing him because the majority of him is human. That feels wrong to both sides. It's making the magic fight. If we can make him just a little less human, we might be able to stop it and settle the magic."

"What are you suggesting? Somehow turning him into a God?" Gabriel asked shocked.

"No, I don't think we have to go that far. We just need to give his blood a bit of mixture. If we transfer some of my blood into him, It will hopefully be enough to save him. But I don't know what it'll do to him. It might have the opposite result. It might kill him faster. And even if it saves him, I don't know what complications might make themselves known later on. It won't turn him into a God, but that doesn't mean he won't have some affects," Kali warned.

Gabriel snapped his fingers, and everything needed for a blood transfusion appeared on the bed next to Sam. It would be the easiest way to get the blood into him. "It's the only choice I have. I can't let him die. Do it.


	16. Chapter 16

Gabriel laid on Kali's bed with Sam cuddled into his side. He periodically checked Sam's temperature, only to find that he was still burning up. "Come on, Sammy. You have to fight for me.

"I take it there's no change," A voice said from the doorway.

Gabriel turned to see Kali. "No, not yet. But it hasn't been very long." He prayed he wasn't kidding himself when he said that. He prayed he hadn't condemned his child. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. He should've made sure he knew every last detail about that ritual before he used it on Sam.

"I've never seen you like this before. You were never the type to sit around and play caregiver," Kali commented.

"You're wrong. I was that type in Heaven. I helped care for my younger siblings. I loved it. Not as much as I love this boy though. There's nothing I love more than him. If he dies, I won't survive it," Gabriel said as he gently caroused his son's hair.

"Why did you do it?" Kali asked. Gabriel loved the boy like a son now, but he couldn't have then. Why had he attempted such a ritual, and without knowing all the consequences.

"Because I knew what would happen to him if I didn't. My brother was going to destroy him. I couldn't let it happen," Gabriel said.

"He was just a human. You've never felt the need to save every human in trouble. You've even killed quite a few," Kali reminded him.

Gabriel shook his head. "He isn't just any human. His heart is bigger than you can possibly imagine. He's one of the best people in the world. He's the light bringer in human form. That's why he was Lucifer's vessel. Before Lucifer was corrupted, he was this boy. I had to save him. It didn't take me long afterwards before I loved him. He's mine now."

"I guess this is why there's been no activity that can be contributed to the Winchesters in five years," Kali said.

Gabriel nodded. "I had Sam, and Dean's probably dead. In fact, until I came here, I wasn't sure if Earth had survived."

"Yes, well, the apocalypse was almost disappointing. At least I'm sure it was to those who wanted it. There were deaths, but an inconsequential amount," Kali told him.

"Lucifer didn't have his vessel. That would've helped the situation. It wouldn't have been very hard for Michael to take him out," Gabriel said.

"So perhaps his human vessel is still alive." "Even if he is, he's probably a vegetable," Gabriel said. Honestly, he hoped Dean was dead. If he wasn't, he truly was just a vessel because his brain would be practically gone. That wouldn't be fair.

"Daddy?" a small, frail voice asked.

"Hey, little one. How are you doing?" Gabriel asked gently.

"I don't feel good," Sam said miserably.

"I know, sweetheart. We're trying to make you better."

"I'm thirsty," Sam said.

Gabriel snapped his fingers and a sippy cup filled with ginger ale appeared in his hands.

"That's a baby cup," Sam whined.

"I know, but this is the easiest way for you to drink right now," Gabriel said as he brought the cup to Sam's lips.

Sam sat up a little and took ahold of the cup. He took a couple sips and then laid back down.

Gabriel put the cup down on the nightstand next to him.

"Where's Imp?" Sam asked. He wanted to cuddle his teddy bear.

Gabriel looked around the room and saw the toy bear on the floor on Sam's side of the bed. The boy must have pushed it off at some point.

"I've got it," Kali said. She went over and picked up the toy before handing it to the boy.

"Thank you," Sam said as he squeezed his favorite stuffed animal. "Who are you?"

"This is Kali. She's Daddy's friend, and she's helping you get better," Gabriel said.

"I saw her before," Sam said. He remembered seeing this lady once before, but he couldn't remember where.

"Yes, you have. Go back to sleep, Sammy. You need to rest," Gabriel said.

"Will you sing?" Sam asked.

"Of course," Gabriel said. He began humming a lullaby while running a hand through his son's hair.

Sam was asleep within minutes.

Gabriel put a hand on Sam's forehead and used his grace to check his temperature again. "It's a little lower."

Kali put her hand on the boy and checked herself. "By an insignificant amount. His temperature has been fluctuating by a degree or two all night. It's not enough to tell if the blood is helping him.

"Maybe we should give him more then," Gabriel said.

"We've done everything we can, Gabriel. We can only wait now," she said.

Gabriel sighed. "You of all people know I don't have much patience."

"You have a child. You should have an endless supply. I still find it hard to believe you could want this," Kali commented.

"How long do you think it will take?" he asked.

"I don't know. This is basically an experiment," Kali said before leaving the room.

Gabriel held Sam tighter and resumed praying.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

It wasn't until the next morning that Gabriel finally found a difference in Sam's condition. When he went to take his temperature, he found that it had dropped several degrees. He still had a pretty good fever, but it was no longer at dangerous levels. His temperature was at about a hundred and one. "Yes! That's my boy!"

"I take it the boy's fever broke?" Kali asked as she entered the room.

"Yes. Thank you so much," Gabriel said. He would never be able to repay her for saving his son, even if he'd had to pressure her into it.

Soon, they heard a knock on the door.

"I swear, if that's that idiot from last night…"

"I take it you mean your new boy toy? You didn't even bother to learn his name?" Gabriel asked.

"He wasn't important enough," Kali said before going to answer the door.

"Daddy?"

Gabriel smiled at his boy and held him close. "Hey. You feeling better?"

"A little," Sam said. He still didn't feel good, but it was better than before.

"I'm glad," Gabriel said before picking up the sippy cup from the table. "Can you drink for me?"

Sam nodded before sitting up and taking the cup.

Kali came back into the room looking pissed. "You're more trouble than you're worth! It's for you."

A young man with blond hair entered the room behind the goddess. "Hello, Gabriel."

"Michael."


	17. Chapter 17

Gabriel couldn't say he was happy to see Michael, especially considering the fact that the older archangel was barely a few feet away from his son. He didn't trust his brother, and especially not around Sam. For all he knew Michael was there for revenge.

Michael took a step towards his brother and the young boy laying beside him. "Gabriel…"

"Hey! Back off!" Gabriel said before getting off the bed and grabbing his brother by the back of his shirt.

"Daddy, what's going on?" Sam asked, a bit scared. His daddy seemed really mad.

"It's okay, Sammy. I'll be right back. Kali's gonna stay with you," Gabriel told his son.

"What? I am not a babysitter," Kali protested.

"Just for a few minutes," Gabriel said before pulling his brother out of the room.

Michael could've stopped Gabriel, but he didn't. He allowed his younger brother to lead him out of the room. "I wasn't going to harm him."

Gabriel didn't let go of Michael until they were in the living room. "You've already harmed him! I won't let you do it again!"

"That was different," Michael said.

"What do you want, Michael? How'd you even know where I was?" Gabriel asked.

"On the off chance that you might return to Earth one day, I had some of your Pagan Acquaintances discreetly watched. I didn't think you'd actually come back though. From what I'd gathered you weren't planning on it," Michael said.

"No, I wasn't. So why'd you come? To punish me for flouting your little plan?" Gabriel asked with a sneer.

"It wasn't my plan. I admit I was very upset to find that you'd defied Father's will," Michael said.

"Screw you and Dad's supposed will! I don't give a damn about it!" Gabriel yelled.

"Yes, you've been clear on that. There's no bigger statement to your displeasure of the apocalypse than to take one of the vessels out of the equation. It didn't work. Lucifer's dead," Michael told his brother.

"Yes, I know that, Michael. I felt it," Gabriel said. There was a bit of sadness in his voice.

"I wasn't sure you would wherever you were," Michael said.

"Apparently nowhere is far enough away for an archangel to feel his brother's death. So are you happy now, Michael. The two of you just couldn't stop until one of you was dead," Gabriel said with a quite a bit of resentment in his voice.

"I didn't want this," Michael said.

Gabriel laughed bitterly. "You put it into motion!"

"It was…"

"Don't! I do not want to hear about Dad's will anymore! If it was really his will, it would've happened regardless of what anyone did. You didn't have to lift a finger, but you did. You worked overtime to make it happen. You should've just left Lucifer in the cage," Gabriel said.

Michael was quiet for a few moments, then he said something that he knew would surprise his younger brother. "You're right, I should've."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected his brother to actually agree with him. He figured Michael would start spouting about their father's plan again. He knew killing their brother would cause Michael pain, but he didn't expect it to be so much that he'd regret his actions. Michael lived and breathed to do what he believed their father wanted.

"I wasn't prepared for what it would be like, Gabriel. I knew I couldn't walk away without pain, but I didn't think it would be like that. I raised Lucifer. I did everything for him. Then, ultimately, I was the reason he took his last breath. I killed my own brother. That has been almost unbearable to live with," Michael said sadly.

Gabriel felt bad for Michael. Well, a part of him did anyway. The other part of him felt that Michael deserved the pain he felt. He'd chosen to put that plan into effect. He literally asked for this. "Why did you come here, Michael?"

"I don't know. After Lucifer died, I had no intention of seeing you again. I saw your memories in Dean Winchester, and I knew you weren't planning to come back. I decided not to come looking for you. At the time, I was still angry that you'd flouted Father's will. I didn't want to hurt you, but I felt no desire to see you either. Raphael wanted me to find you. He wanted you to suffer for costing us paradise," Michael told his brother.

"He can kiss my ass," Gabriel said.

"In time, I guess I just wanted to see you," Michael went on. "You were the only one who would understand what I did to Lucifer and why it hurts the way it does. Raphael doesn't understand. He doesn't care that Lucifer is dead."

"So what is it you want me to do for you? I can't take your pain away, and even if I could, why would I? You dug your own grave, Michael. You wanted this. You have to live with the results of getting exactly what you wanted," Gabriel said.

"Like I said, I don't know what I wanted. I just needed to see you," Michael said.

"Well, if it's me coming back to Heaven that you wanted, forget it. Even if I could stomach being back there, my life now belongs to the boy lying in that room," Gabriel said as he pointed down the hall.

Michael nodded. "I saw how protective you were of him, and he called you 'Daddy'. I can see that you love him."

"More than anything in the world," Gabriel said.

"You were always the happiest when you were around the fledglings. It doesn't surprise me that caring for Sam Winchester would bring you joy. I didn't come to force you back. I just wanted to see you. I'll leave you alone now," Michael said before going to leave.

"Michael, wait. I wanna know about Dean. Is he alive?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes. I healed his injuries once I was through with Lucifer," Michael told him.

Gabriel sighed. "You shouldn't have done that. You should've just put him out of his misery."

"Well, I know Dean was quite upset after losing his brother, but I don't think…"

"Michael, your presence destroyed everything that made him who he was. The only thing that's really there is his body. Tell me where you left him so I can set him free," Gabriel said.

"Gabriel, no, I didn't do that. I protected his mind," Michael said, surprised his brother thought so little of him that he would leave Dean like that. Of course, once he thought about it, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. He had done a lot to a lot of people, especially the Winchesters, without a care to them.

"Really? Dean's mind is intact?" Gabriel asked surprised.

"Yes. I don't know what happened to him after I left him, but he was fine," Michael assured him.

Gabriel nodded. "Thank you."

"I should go now. Thank you for speaking to me, and you don't need to worry about retribusion if you decide to remain on Earth," Michael said before flying away.

Gabriel went back down the hall and into Kali's bedroom. He heard Sam talking as he entered the room.

"This is my bear Imp. I named him after my big brother, Dean's, car," Sam said to Kali.

"Fascinating," Kali said dryly.

"Dean's in Heaven now," Sam said.

Gabriel smiled as he walked further into the room. "Hey, how are we doing in here?"

Sam looked at his father a bit worriedly. "Hi, Daddy. You were yelling at that man. Are you mad?"

"No, buddy, I'm not mad. That man was my big brother, and sometimes we fight, just like you would fight with your big brother. Everything's okay," Gabriel promised.

"Okay. When are we going home?" Sam asked.

"You should be able to take him home now," Kali whispered to Gabriel. "I checked him. The magic is stabilizing. He should be fine by tomorrow at the latest."

Gabriel nodded and approached his son. He reached his arms out and scooped the boy into them. We're going to go home right now. We'll get you into your own bed so you can rest. Daddy will make you some soap later to help you get better." He was going to take his boy home to get better. Then he'd take him to see his brother. Dean was alive, and it was safe for them to return to Earth. There was no reason that Dean shouldn't be allowed back in Sam's life.

"Can I lay on the couch with you and watch TV?" Sam asked.

"I don't see why not. I could definitely use some more cuddles from my favorite boy. But we're just going to lay on the couch, okay? I don't want you to get up to play," Gabriel said in a slightly firm tone.

"Okay," he said. He didn't feel like playing anyway. He still didn't feel good.

Gabriel turned to Kali. "Thank you. I'll never forget what you did for him."

"Just don't ever use that stupid spell again, and keep your Heavenly family members out of my hair," Kali said through gritted teeth. She had not appreciated the visit from the eldest archangel.

Gabriel nodded and disappeared with his son.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning, Gabriel was in the kitchen happily making breakfast. He found he could finally breath again. He'd checked on Sam a couple of hours ago and his fever was completely gone. It was mostly good the night before, but Gabriel kept worrying it would worsen again. He was glad to see that it hadn't. His boy was finally over it and safe.

Gabriel soon heard footsteps. Seconds later, Sam came running into the room.

"Daddy?"

Gabriel smiled at the boy. "Hey, buddy. You're up a little early. You're feeling better, huh? You think you're ready for some French toast?"

"Yeah!" Sam exclaimed as he jumped up and down. He felt a whole lot better than he did before. His tummy didn't hurt anymore, and he felt really good.

"Okay, it's gonna be a few minutes. You go sit at the table," Gabriel said.

Sam immediately went over and sat down in his usual chair.

About ten minutes later, Gabriel came over with plates of French toast and some juice.

"Can we go to the park today?" Sam asked as he ate.

"Actually, I think we're gonna go somewhere else today, after we have a talk," Gabriel said. Sam was doing better, so it was time to tell him about Dean.

Sam got a little worried at that moment. Talks usually meant he was in trouble. He didn't think he did anything though. "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"No, of course not. You're not in any trouble," Gabriel assured his son.

That was enough for Sam, and he went back to his breakfast.

Once breakfast was done, Gabriel looked at Sam and patted his legs. "Come sit with me."

Sam immediately went over and climbed onto his father's lap.

"So Daddy has to tell you something. I told you something a while back that wasn't true. I thought it was, but I was wrong," Gabriel said.

Sam gasped. "But you're never wrong."

Gabriel chuckled. "Well, not often, but sometimes. Do you remember when we talked about your big brother and what happened to him?" Gabriel asked.

"Uh huh. Dean fought the bad man and went to Heaven," Sam said.

"Well, that's what I was wrong about. I thought your brother was in Heaven, but he's not," Gabriel said.

"He didn't go to Hell, did he?" Sam asked with fear in his voice. He was pretty sure that was a bad word he wasn't supposed to say, but it was also a real place, so he thought it might be okay, and he wanted to know if his brother was there.

"No, absolutely not. You don't need to worry about your brother going there. When he dies, your brother will go to Heaven," Gabriel told him.

"So does that mean Dean didn't die," Sam asked. He was confused. He thought his brother died fighting the bad man.

"Yes, that's exactly what it means. I thought your brother was hurt so badly that he had to go to Heaven, but I found out that that's not true. Dean is okay."

"If Dean didn't go to Heaven, why didn't he come to see me?" Sam asked. Did Dean not want to see him? Was he made at him for being mean before? His daddy had told him he wasn't, but why else wouldn't Dean come?

"Because he couldn't come there. No one can get here unless I'm with them. I didn't know Dean was still alive, so I couldn't help him come here," Gabriel explained.

"So he does want to see me?" Sam asked.

"Yes. I am sure he wants to see you. We can go find him, so you can see him. Do you wanna do that?" Gabriel asked.

Sam was about to say 'yes'. He wanted to see his brother very much. He had missed him a lot. But then something occurred to him, something that worried him about going to his brother.

"Sam, what's wrong? You wanna see your brother, don't you?" Gabriel asked. He'd expected his son to be bouncing off the walls at the prospect of going to see his brother. Instead, the kid was extremely quiet. Something was wrong.

"Yes," Sam said. There was a lot of hesitance in the boy's voice.

"What's wrong, little one?" Gabriel asked as he ran a hand through the boy's hair.

"If I see Dean, will you go away?" Sam asked. He went to live with his daddy because Dean couldn't take care of him anymore. Now that Dean could, did that mean he'd lose his daddy? He wanted to see Dean, but he didn't want to leave his daddy.

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Gabriel asked. He never would've even guessed that that thought would've entered his son's head.

"Because you take care of me because Dean couldn't," he said.

"No, sweetheart. Absolutely not," Gabriel said as he pulled the boy closer to him. "You're mine now, Sammy. I'm never leaving you."

"I can still live with you?" Sam asked.

"Yes, you will still stay with me," Gabriel assured him.

Just like that, Sam's fears went away and he grinned. "Then I wanna see Dean! Can we go now?"

Gabriel chuckled. This was what he had expected when he told Sam they would go to see Dean. "Well, I don't actually know where Dean is, but I think Bobby will know."

Sam smiled even more. "Uncle Bobby! We get to see Uncle Bobby too?!"

"Yeah. But first, we need to get you a bath and dressed," Gabriel said.

"Okay, let's do it now," Sam said before pushing himself off his father's lap and tugging at his hand.

Gabriel got up and picked his son up from behind. He started tickling him as he carried him out of the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Bobby was on the phone with Rufus, who was requesting a partner on hunt. Rufus rarely partnered up, so Bobby knew he really did need the help. "Alright, Rufus, I'll send someone out. I'll call you back when I find someone."

Soon there was a knock on the door. "Hang on! Rufus, I gotta… What? Yeah, Dean's nearby, but he's not an option, which you know."

There was another chorus of bangs from the door. "I said hold on! Yeah, Rufus, he's still on 'that kick'. Look, I gotta go. Some idjit is banging on the door like the apocalypse started back up," Bobby said before handing up.

Grumbling to himself, Bobby got up and went through the kitchen to the door. He was fully prepared to give whatever asshole this was a piece of his mind; however, he was unprepared for who was on the other side. The Trickster slash archangel was standing there with a very young Sam standing in front of him.

Gabriel grinned. "Well, it's about time, old man. You left us out here forever."

Bobby barely even heard him. His eyes were on the little boy he thought was lost to him. "Sam?"

"Uncle Bobby!" Sam exclaimed as he went to hug the man.

Bobby wasted no time in scooping Sam into his arms. He held him to himself as tight as he could without risking hurting him. He'd missed his boy so much. He thought he'd never see him again. Dean had told him that he was being taken away from Earth and would never be back.

Bobby put Sam down after a minute or so and knelt down in front of him. He just looked at him for a few minutes. He almost felt like he'd gone back in time as he looked at him. Dean had told him that Sam had been turned into a child again, but it was different actually seeing it.

"Are you okay, Uncle Bobby?" Sam asked. His uncle was just looking at him, not saying anything.

"Yeah, I'm good. Look at you, boy. You look great," Bobby said as he ruffled the boy's hair.

Sam giggled at the praise.

"You too, Singer. I see you got your legs back. Who did it?" Gabriel asked. He'd heard about Bobby's paralysis. He fully intended to heal him, but it seemed he didn't have to."

Bobby stood up. "Cas. He got all his powers back and healed me before he went back up."

"Huh. I didn't know that," Gabriel said. He was glad to hear that Michael had reinstated Castiel. He shouldn't have been banished in the first place.

Sam, meanwhile, started to wander around the house.

"I thought you weren't coming back," Bobby said.

"I wasn't planning to, but things changed," Gabriel said before looking to see where his son had gone off to. He eyed him in Bobby's makeshift office in the kitchen, reaching for a book. "Sam."

The young boy turned back to his father.

"We don't touch things that aren't ours," Gabriel scolded lightly.

"Sorry, Daddy," Sam said.

"Come here, kiddo," Gabriel said as he walked into the kitchen.

Sam ran back over to his father and uncle.

Gabriel helped Sam take off his coat and then led him over to the kitchen table. He snapped his fingers and a coloring book and crayons appeared on the table. "Will you color me a picture?"

"Okay. I have to make one for Dean and Uncle Bobby too," Sam said.

"Daddy, huh?" Bobby asked when Gabriel came back over.

"You got a problem with it?" Gabriel asked in a challenging tone.

"Haven't decided yet," Bobby retorted. Truthfully, he wasn't too surprised that Sam was calling the archangel 'Daddy'. He was all Sam had known for five years. That didn't mean Bobby trusted him though. Dean had years ago, but it wasn't like he had a ton of options.

Bobby shifted his eyes to Sam, who was happily coloring at the table. "He looks so carefree."

"He has the mind and body of a five-year-old. He shouldn't be anything but carefree," Gabriel said.

"But he wasn't when he actually was that age. He didn't even know about monsters then, but he was still a much too serious child," Bobby said. He wasn't quite as serious as Dean, and he was better able to be a child, but there was just this small part of him, always present, that seemed older than he was. Now it was the opposite. His mind was younger than his body.

"Being on the road constantly with a half absent father, who treated him more like a soldier than a son, will do that," Gabriel said with an edge to his voice. He hated John Winchester for the damage he'd done to his boy.

"Can't argue with you there," Bobby said. John had been his friend, most of the time, but he knew the damage the man had done to both Sam and Dean. They didn't grow up the way they should've. "I thought you weren't coming back."

"I wasn't planning to. I ended up having to come back to Earth briefly. In that time, I encountered Michael, who told me what happened during the apocalypse," Gabriel said.

"You mean lack thereof. It wasn't much of one, not that I'm complaining," Bobby said.

"Right. After I felt my brother's death, I assumed Dean was dead or worse. I didn't think that Michael would restore him," Gabriel said.

"Yeah, he made it, though he wished he hadn't," Bobby said.

"I figured he took losing Sam hard," Gabriel said.

"Understatement. He didn't say 'yes' to your jackass brother because he wanted to save the world. He did it for revenge. You taking Sam was the last straw. He had no more real fight in him. He didn't care about saving the world anymore. The apocalypse was his last fight," Bobby explained.

Gabriel nodded. He assumed Dean had stopped hunting. Kali had said that there was no Winchester activity since the apocalypse.

"It was almost two years before I heard from him again," Bobby said. That had been hard. Not only had he lost Sam, he felt like he'd lost Dean too. The kid had been determined to sink, and to do so all by his lonesome.

"Bobby, is Dean alright?" Gabriel asked. He was starting to wonder if this was a good idea. If Dean had completely self-destructed, he couldn't have him around Sam. He wouldn't allow his son to be hurt. "I brought Sam back because I know it's safe now for you and Dean to be a part of his life, but if Dean's not in a good place for that, I need to know."

"No, he's good now. He found a way to go on," Bobby said. Well, it was more like a way to move on had practically smacked Dean in the face, but that was Dean's business to share.

Sam suddenly ran up to the two men. "Uncle Bobby, I colored you a picture."

Bobby smiled and took the picture. "Thanks, pal. I'll put this someplace special."

"Here, Daddy. Here's yours," Sam said before handing the second page to his father.

"Thank you. This is going to go on the fridge when we get home," Gabriel said.

"Can I have plain paper? I wanna draw Dean my own picture," Sam said.

"Of course you can," Gabriel said before snapping his fingers. A few pieces of plain paper appeared on the kitchen table.

"Thank you, Daddy. When can I see Dean?" Sam asked.

Bobby knelt down in front of the boy. "Dean's far away right now, but if I call him, I know he'll come."

"Can I talk to him when you call?" Sam asked.

"Actually, kiddo, I think it would be better to surprise Dean," Gabriel said. This was something it would be better for Dean to find out in person. That way he wouldn't have to wait to see his brother.

"Yeah, a surprise!" Sam exclaimed.

"Come on let's go draw your picture," Gabriel said before taking his son's hand and leading him back to the kitchen table. He sat down and put Sam on his lap.

Bobby went over to the phones and picked up the landline. He immediately dialed Dean and listened as it rang.

" _Hey, Bobby,"_ Dean's rough voice.

"Hey. You busy?" Bobby asked. It was really a stupid question.

Laughter filled on the other end. _"When am I not freaking busy, Bobby? What's up?"_

"How would you feel about making a trip up here, as in now?" Bobby asked.

" _Now? Kind of last minute, don't you think. It's not as easy to just pack up these days. Everything okay?"_ Dean asked.

"Yeah, I just got some people here who need to see you," Bobby said.

" _I'm out of the game. You know that,"_ Dean said. He clearly thought it was hunters.

"No, it's not case related. Can you just come up?" Bobby asked.

" _Alright, fine. I'll leave tomorrow. I'll tell the boss I had a family emergency. It'll take me a couple of days to get there though,"_ Dean said.

"Yeah, that's fine. Though you could take a plane," Bobby commented.

" _No one's getting me on a damned plane!"_ Dean grumbled before hanging up.

"He'll be a couple of days," Bobby said as he hung up the phone.

"I heard. It's fine," Gabriel said before turning to Sam. "It's gonna be a little while longer, Sammy, but you'll see your brother soon."

"Okay," Sam said before going back to his picture.


	19. Chapter 19

Dean woke up to the sound of his alarm going off. He immediately got up to start getting ready to head to Bobby's. He couldn't say that he was totally looking forward to it. He was of course happy to see Bobby whenever he could, but he was more than a little wary about why Bobby had asked him to come. His surrogate father had told him that there was someone there that wanted to see him, but not much else. That left him a bit uneasy.

Dean tried to shake the worry away. Bobby wouldn't have him come if he thought there were any problems, especially nowadays. Still, Dean couldn't imagine who would want to see him. Bobby said it wasn't a hunter, but the only people Bobby really knew were hunters.

Dean sighed. He decided it was best not to dwell on what was going to happen. The only way he'd find out was to go, so it was best he started to get ready. He wanted to get on the road as early as possible.

Dean was about to get up when he noticed the picture on his nightstand. Well, actually, there were two, but the one that he picked up was the one of him and Sam. It had been five years since he'd last seen Sam. He missed his brother so much. It wasn't as bad as it used to be, but he would never stop missing his little brother.

There was a time when Dean thought losing Sam was going to kill him. It almost did. He spent years drowning himself in alcohol and one-night stands. He was sure that one night he'd drink so much that it killed him. Then one night of drinking and a one-night stand changed his entire life forever, even if he didn't know about it for a while after.

Dean put the picture of his brother down and picked up the picture right beside it. It was picture of a three-year-old boy with blond hair and green eyes. It was a picture of the only reason Dean was alive today. His son.

 _Flashback_

 _Dean woke up in his motel room with a massive headache. It was how he woke every morning these days. He got drunk as hell, passed out, and repeated the process the next day. He was fairly certain by now that if he even tried to stop drinking, he'd go into withdrawal. Not that he had any intention of stopping._

 _Dean got up and walked around the beer and vodka bottles all over the floor. He went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. He opened it and then grabbed the bottle of Aspirin from the table. He popped two and washed them down with his beer._

 _Dean soon heard his cellphone ring. He grabbed this head, as the noise worsened his hangover, but otherwise, he ignored the call. He didn't answer his cell anymore. There was no one he wanted to talk to_

 _The phone stopped after about six rings, but then started up again a couple of seconds later._

" _Son of a bitch!" Dean cursed before going back to the bed and grabbing the phone from the nightstand. He answered the call and put the phone to his ear. "What?"_

" _Hi, is this Dean?" a male voice Dean didn't recognize asked._

" _Who the hell is this and why are you blowing up my phone?" Dean demanded._

" _My name is James Quinn. You knew my sister, Nicole," he said._

" _Look, this is gonna sound crude, but I'm hung over, so I don't really care. You're going to have to be more specific. I've met a lot of women, some of whom I don't know the names of," Dean said._

" _Sure, I'll be more specific," the man said in a dark tone. "The girl you got pregnant and the girl who died giving birth to your kid."_

 _The beer bottle in Dean's hand slowly fell out and crashed to the floor._

 _Flashback_

Dean really should've known his recklessness would catch up with him one day. In fact, it was a miracle it hadn't happened years earlier. Not that Dean was sorry for what happened. His kid was the best thing that ever happened to him. It forced him to clean up his life before he killed himself.

As soon as the DNA test came back that the boy was his, Dean knew he had to get his act together. He could never abandon his own son, and he couldn't be a father if he lived in a bottle of booze. So he got off the alcohol, which admittedly took a while because he was an addict. He also had to get a job and a place to live. In that time, his son stayed with Bobby. Nicole's remaining family wasn't very interested in her son, blaming him for her death.

Dean was pulled from his thoughts when he heard small footsteps. He turned in time to see his three-year-old enter the room. He placed the photo he was holding back on the table and held his arms open for his son. "Hey. Come here."

"Daddy," the boy said before running into his arms.

Dean picked the boy up and sat him on his lap. "Hey, Ethan. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

Ethan bobbed his hid up and down.

"Good. Come on. Let's go have breakfast and get ready to go to Uncle Bobby's," Dean said before standing up and shifting the boy so he was resting on his hip.

"Yay! Uncle Bobby!" the boy exclaimed as he was carried out the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Bobby was in the middle of cleaning his house. He was about to have two boys in his place that would trying to get their hands into everything. He'd already packed up all the books and put them down in the panic room. He'd done the same with any weapons laying around. He was now making sure there wasn't anything else the kids could get their hands on.

Bobby was interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door. He immediately went to open it. He found Gabriel and Sam on the other side. "Hey."

"Hi, Uncle Bobby," Sam said before going to hug his uncle.

"Hey, kid," Bobby said as hugged the boy back.

"Is Dean here yet?" Sam asked as he pulled away. He was really excited to see his brother. It was all he thought about in the two days since Bobby called him.

"Not yet, but he's gonna be here soon. I talked to him a little while ago. Why don't you guys come on in?" Bobby asked as he stopped aside.

Gabriel helped Sam take his coat off and hung it on a hook by the door.

"Hey, Sam, come with me. I got something for you," Bobby said.

Sam happily took his uncle's hand and let the man lead him into the kitchen. Gabriel followed behind them.

There were two wrapped gifts sitting on the table. Bobby picked up the top one and handed it to Sam. "That's for you."

"Yay!" Sam said before he started opening it. When he got it open, he found a box with picture of a big toy dump truck on it. "Wow! Thank you, Uncle Bobby."

"You're welcome," Bobby said with a smile.

Sam turned to his father and showed him. "Daddy, look."

"Wow. That's a cool looking truck," Gabriel.

"Will you help me open it?" Sam asked.

"Of course," Gabriel said before putting the box down on the table and opening it up for the boy.

Soon, Bobby heard a car pull up. He immediately went outside and found the Impala in the yard. As soon as it came to a complete stop, Bobby opened it the back seat to get Ethan.

"Uncle Bobby! Uncle Bobby!" Ethan exclaimed as he reached his arms out to be picked up.

"Please, take him before I kill him," Dean grumbled. He'd been driving on and off for two days and his son was less than pleased with the activities. He'd been whining all day. Dean couldn't really blame the kid, but he was getting frustrated.

"Touch ride," Bobby asked as he unbuckled the kid's car seat and pulled him into his arms.

"No more car," Ethan said in as firm a voice as the three-year-old could.

"Yeah, a tough ride," Dean said before shutting the car off and getting out. "I need a drink."

"You don't drink anymore," Bobby reminded him in an amused voice.

"Don't remind me, Bobby. So these people I gotta see, they inside?" Dean asked.

"Yep," Bobby said.

Dean walked inside without another word. As soon as he stepped inside, he heard a child's giggle. He stopped dead. He knew that laugh. No matter how many years passed, he could never forget it.

Dean's feet began moving without his consent. He soon found himself in the kitchen and his eyes fell to the floor where his very little brother was playing with a toy truck. Gabriel was not far from him grinning at Dean.

Dean felt the urge to run, because he knew this couldn't be real. He'd had dreams like this too many times. Most consisted of an adult Sam, but there were occasionally ones with Little Sam. Every time, they'd end just as he got close.

Sam looked over and his eyes lit up when he saw his big brother. He immediately got up and ran over to him. "Dean!"

Dean watched as his little brother held out his arms expectantly. Despite the fear that it wasn't real, Dean didn't run. Instead, once again, his body parts moved without his brain telling them to. He reached out and picked Sam up. It wasn't until the child was actually in his arms that he let himself believe it was real. Then he hugged Sam as tightly as he could and started to cry.


	20. Chapter 20

Dean didn't know how long he'd stood there holding his baby brother to him and crying tears of joy. He had to assume it had been a good five minutes at least. He never wanted to let him go. The last five years had been so long. He'd missed Sam so much. Not even his son, whom he loved more than anything, could stop him from missing his little brother.

Sam could hear his big brother crying and it was starting to upset him a little bit. "Dean, don't cry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

Gabriel walked over and ruffled his son's hair. "No, he's not sad, kiddo. He's crying because he's happy.

Dean reluctantly put Sam down on the ground and knelt down in front of him. "That's right. I'm not sad. You never make me sad, Sammy. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Dean," Sam said before wrapping his arms around his brother once more.

Dean held him tightly. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. He had his little brother back.

Just then, Bobby came in carrying Ethan in his arms.

Sam soon noticed the boy in his uncle's arms. "Who's that?"

Dean let go of his brother and turned to see Bobby with his son. He got up and wiped his eyes before pulling Ethan out of his surrogate father's arms and putting him down on the floor in front of his brother. "Sammy, this is Ethan. He's my son. Ethan, this is Sammy."

"Well, you are full of surprises," Gabriel said to Dean with a grin. "I guess this is what Bobby meant when he said you found a way to move on."

Dean grinned down at his son fondly and ruffled his hair. "Yeah. The kid saved my life."

Gabriel leaned down to greet the little boy. "Hey, big guy. I'm Gabriel."

"Hi," Ethan said brightly.

"Hey, Ethan, look what I got for you," Bobby said as he held up a brightly wrapped package.

"Present!" Ethan said before running over.

Sam, meanwhile, frowned a little at the boy. He wasn't so sure he was happy that his brother had a little boy. Dean was supposed to be his. Dean took care of him all the time when he was little the first time. Now there was another little boy for Dean to take care of. Sam didn't think he like that.

Ethan held up a box with a toy firetruck in it once he freed it from its wrapping. "Daddy, open it!"

"What do we say when we want something?" Dean asked in a parental tone.

"Please," Ethan responded.

Dean walked over and took the toy from his son and began opening it.

Gabriel knelt down in front of Sam and rubbed his back a little. He could tell that the boy was upset about something. "What's up, kiddo?

Sam shrugged and continued to look at his brother and his little boy.

Gabriel followed his son's eyes and realized the problem. Sam wasn't used to Dean taking care of any child but him. It was probably a little disconcerting to see him with Ethan. Gabriel grabbed his son's hand began to lead him out of the room. "Come here."

Sam followed his daddy out of the room.

Gabriel knelt down to Sam's level once again. "Hey, buddy. It's kind of strange seeing your brother with another little boy, huh?"

Sam nodded.

"You know, your brother loves you. Just because he has a little boy doesn't mean he doesn't love you just as much," Gabriel said.

"He doesn't need me anymore," Sam said with crestfallen look on his face.

"Oh, that's not true, Sammy. Your brother always needs you. He was so happy that we came back because he so much. He needs you to be around so he's not so sad anymore. And you know, Ethan might need you to. He's younger than you. He's going to need someone to show him stuff, like your brother used to do for you. You're his uncle, you know?" Gabriel said.

"Really?" Sam asked surprised.

"Uh huh. That's a pretty big deal. It means you're gonna be someone very important to him," Gabriel said.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled before running into the living room where he found his brother with Gabriel. He'd freaked out when his brother was suddenly gone. "Dude, don't do that."

"We're not going anywhere, Dean. We just needed to have a little talk," Gabriel said before turning back to his son. "Are we good now, buddy?"

Sam nodded, but he still wasn't sure. He didn't like Dean having someone else to take care of. What if Dean didn't love him the same anymore?

"Well, is everything okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, we just needed a minute," Gabriel said.

Dean knelt down in front of his brother. "Hey, man. I've really missed you. Have you been happy?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, but I was sad that you were gone. Daddy thought you died."

Dean couldn't say he was really shocked that Sam called Gabriel 'Daddy', but he would admit to being a bit upset by it. He knew he shouldn't be. Gabriel was all Sam knew for five years. Of course, he would call him 'Daddy', and Dean should be okay with that. He should realize that Sam deserved a parent who took care of him. It just felt like somehow his brother had been adopted, and that somehow cut their tie. It wasn't a rational thought, but that's what it felt like.

"Hey, Sammy, how about you go see Uncle Bobby and Ethan? Maybe Uncle Bobby will get you a snack," Gabriel said.

"But I want to talk to Dean," Sam protested.

"You'll have plenty of time. Right now, I need to talk to him. We'll be in soon," Gabriel promised.

"Okay," Sam said reluctantly before going into the other room.

Dean watched his brother leave and felt the desire to run after him. He didn't want to let the boy out of his sight. He felt like if he did, the whole thing would turn out to be a dream.

Gabriel could tell what Dean was thinking. "He's real, Dean, I promise."

Dean turned back to Gabriel with a scared look on his face. "You're not gonna take him away again, are you?"

"No. I wouldn't have even brought him here if that was the plan," Gabriel swore to him. "Let's have a seat."

Dean nodded and walked over to the couch and sat down.

Gabriel sat an armchair across from Dean. "Listen, I want to explain to you why I had to tell Sam you were dead. I assumed that, best case scenario, your brain had been destroyed by Michael's presence. The worst-case scenario was that you really dead. Either way, I wouldn't be coming back, and Sam needed to move on."

Dean nodded that he understood. "I probably would have done the same thing. I'm glad you did it. He probably would've thought I didn't love him anymore if he knew I was alive, but didn't come for him."

"I would never allow him to think that. When you let him go, you proved how much you love him," Gabriel said. He'd gained a lot of respect for Dean when he did that. Before, he'd thought of him as nothing more than a selfish, idiotic hunter. He'd proved himself when he sacrificed his own happiness for his brother's.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done. It almost killed me too. I really do owe Ethan my life. He gave me a reason to live," Dean said.

"I heard you stopped hunting and drinking," Gabriel said. Bobby had told him that drinking the last time he'd been there. It was surprising. He knew Dean had basically been a functioning alcoholic before, like a lot of hunters.

"I stopped hunting before Ethan. I made the decision that I was done after the apocalypse. I didn't have it in me anymore. I'd spent my life fighting to help others and it literally cost me everything. I was just done. The drinking I stopped because of Ethan. I had to," Dean said.

"Well, there's no denying that kid's yours. He looks a lot like you," Gabriel said.

"Not that I'm not glad, but why'd you come back? You weren't planning to," Dean said.

"Okay, first, I need you to understand that he's fine now," Gabriel said.

Dean's eyes widened in fear. "Did something happen to Sammy?" Dean asked.

"Yes, but he's okay now, and he'll stay that way. I screwed up. I didn't have time to adequately research the ritual I used on him. I thought I had, but I was wrong. About a week ago, his temperature skyrocketed. He was dying because of the Pagan magic inside of him," Gabriel explained.

"Oh my God!" Dean exclaimed in horror. His brother almost died. He could have died, and Dean never would have known.

"He's fine now. You just saw him. It's like it never even happened. But you do need to know that in order to save him, I had to let Kali inject him with her blood. Putting Pagan blood inside him was the only way," Gabriel said. He hoped this didn't freak Dean out. Hunters didn't do well with learning that someone wasn't completely human. He didn't believe that Dean would reject Sam because of this, but he needed to make sure.

"He's okay," Dean said in relief as he began to calm down.

Gabriel smiled. Dean had not disappointed him. "Yes."

"What does having the Pagan blood mean? Will he have powers?" Dean asked.

"I don't know, but if he does, it won't be like it was with the demon blood," Gabriel promised.

"As long as he's okay, I don't care what you had to do," Dean said. There was a time when he would've cared. His father had ingrained it in him that non-human was a synonym for evil, but Dean had learned over the years that wasn't always the case.

"I'm glad to hear that. I realize that the situation was my fault," Gabriel said.

"Maybe, but he wouldn't have been any better off if you hadn't done it," Dean said.

"Anyway, after Sam recovered, Michael found us with Kali. He told me you were okay. He also promised not to come after us. So, I decided to come back and let you see him," Gabriel finished explained.

"And you swear you won't take him away again?" Dean asked.

"Yes. There's no reason to stay away anymore. You will always have a place in his life. But I'm not giving him up. You can see him whenever you want, but that boy is mine now," Gabriel said firmly. He wanted this made very clear. He was not giving Sam back to Dean, but he would give him access whenever you wanted.

"I didn't actually expect you to. No sane person could ever give Sammy up. I could only do it because I knew with the alternative would be. And even then, I'm not sure if I could've done it if I had any way of getting past you," Dean said.

"I believe you could've. You proved that you loved your brother enough to put his needs first," Gabriel said.

"The truth is, while I'd take him in a heartbeat, I really don't have the ability anymore, or at least I won't. He won't age, not as long alive. I'll be gone in a few decades. He won't be. Besides, this actually gives me a chance to be his brother. Most of his life, I was more like his father than anything else. While I tried not to, there were times I resented that. I can be his brother now," Dean said.

"I think that will be good for both of you. Listen, Dean, you do have to understand something. Sam is your brother and he's here for you, but he's not the same person he used to be. He hasn't grown up the same way. He has some memories of that life, but his is different," Gabriel said.

"You're telling me that the brother I knew is essentially gone? Yeah, I think I can already see that. He's happier than he was, even at the age of five. He had more of a childhood than I did, but he still really wasn't one. I can see that that's different now. It hurts to know that the kid I took care of will never really be the same one here now, memories or no, but now he has a chance to be happy. I want that for him," Dean said.

"I'm glad to hear that. Should we go join the others now?" Gabriel asked.

Dean nodded before eagerly getting up and heading for the other room.


End file.
